Lead Test Kits

With the recent stories about lead tainted toys from China, over 3.5 million toys have been recalled.

With lead poisoning in children potentially a cause of neurological problems resulting in learning disabilities, the presence of lead in so many toys is disturbing. All year reports have been flooding the news of more and more lead-tainted products aimed at children. The effects of so much lead in the environments of young children could have terrible future consequences. Parents are, understandably, looking for some assurances that the toys they buy their children this Christmas aren't poison disguised as fun. This has brought a slew of new lead test kits to the market.

Consumer Reports is issuing a report this month rating the lead test kits for efficacy. The Consumer Products Safety Commission recently came out with a report stating that the lead test kits were "unreliable." It turns out that both may be correct, depending on what exactly you expect from a lead test kit.

There are five test kits that Consumer Reports is recommending the top being the Homax Lead Check ($8 for two swabs) and Lead Check Household Lead Test Kit, ($18.45 for eight swabs). They are both made by the same company and basically the same product excepting quantity. They were found to be the best value and the easiest to use. Both involve swabbing whatever you are testing and seeing if the swab changes color indicating lead. These products didn't produce any false negatives and were simple. One other did pass muster: Lead Inspector ($13 for eight tests). Researchers noted that the Lead Inspector might be more reliable on red or pink items than the other kits.

Two lead test kits not recommended were: First Alert ($13) which provided some false negatives, and Pro-Lab Lead Surface which had design problems.

So, why did the CPSC not recommend the lead tests? The tests can only detect lead on the surface of an object. This makes a difference if you are concerned about lead exposure from hand to mouth, as would occur if a child were playing with a toy and then ate something or sucked its finger. If the lead is beneath the surface and paint flakes away it could be exposed.

This, presumably, would be a problem if kids pick paint off of an object or chew on it for instance, which could expose the child to lead beneath the surface.

It's important to keep in mind if you choose to buy a lead test kit the age of the child and how the object is to be used. Younger kids are more at risk because they put things directly in their mouths, whereas older children may be completely protected by just testing the surface. You could conceivably test beneath the surface by chipping away paint or scratching the toy on an unexposed area. If you're worried about younger children that might be a good idea.

The website toyinfo.org has a list of recalled toys and information about how to minimize lead exposure in children. They also have tips on choosing toys, supervising childen's play, and other information.