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Report: Lead in Jewelry and Other Products Sold in Capitol Gift Shops: Dangerous Lead Levels in Capitol Gift Shop Products:









U
NITED
S
TATES
H
OUSE OF
R
EPRESENTATIVES

C
OMMITTEE ON
G
OVERNMENT
R
EFORM
M
INORITY
S
TAFF

S
PECIAL
I
NVESTIGATIONS
D
IVISION

D
ECEMBER
2006




LEAD IN JEWELRY AND OTHER PRODUCTS SOLD IN
CAPITOL GIFT SHOPS








P
REPARED FOR

R
EP
.

H
ENRY
A.

W
AXMAN

S
EN
.

B
ARACK
O
BAMA
TABLE OF CONTENTS


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................... 1

I.

BACKGROUND ................................................................ 1

II.

PURPOSE AND METHODOLOGY ..................................... 2

III.

FINDINGS......................................................................... 3

IV.

CONCLUSION.................................................................. 5


1 |
LEAD IN JEWELRY AND OTHER PRODUCTS SOLD IN CAPITOL GIFT SHOPS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

At the request of Rep. Henry A. Waxman and Sen. Barack Obama, the Special Investigations
Division tested inexpensive jewelry and other products used by children that are sold in gift
shops in the Capitol and House and Senate office buildings. The testing showed that seven
products had high lead levels, including some products that contained a potentially lethal dose of
lead if ingested by a child. The products with high lead levels included a silver-plated bracelet,
an eagle pendant, a gold-plated bracelet, a Capitol charm, and a souvenir spoon.

I. BACKGROUND

Over 400,000 American children are estimated to have elevated blood lead levels, which can
lead to multiple neurological and physical disorders. Dangerous even fatal blood lead levels
may result from a single acute exposure to lead or repeated exposure to smaller doses.
Regardless of the route of exposure, there is no known safe blood lead level for young children.

Childrens jewelry is one source of lead exposure among children. In the past year alone, over
eight million pieces of childrens jewelry were recalled due to dangerously high levels of lead.
Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that a four-
year-old child died from lead poisoning after swallowing a metallic charm containing over 90%
lead that was issued as a free gift with the purchase of Reebok shoes.
1
In a similar case in 2004,
CDC reported that a child became seriously ill after swallowing a piece of metallic jewelry
containing 38% lead.
2


Representative Waxman and Senator Obama have repeatedly called on the Bush Administration
to address this hazard by banning the use of lead in childrens products.
3
To date, the Consumer
Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the federal authority responsible for protecting consumers
from hazardous products, has rejected these requests. Instead, CPSC has sought to address the
threat of lead in childrens products through reliance on voluntary industry guidelines. On
December 4, the scientific staff at CPSC recommended that the CPSC adopt a mandatory limit
on lead in childrens jewelry.
4


1
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Death of a Child After Ingestion of a Metallic Charm Minnesota, 2006,
MMWR (Mar. 31, 2006).
2
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Brief Report: Lead Poisoning from Ingestion of a Toy Necklace Oregon,
2003, MMWR (June 18, 2004).
3
Letter from Rep. Henry A. Waxman and Sen. Barack Obama to the Honorable Hal Stratton (Mar. 23, 2006); Letter from
Rep. Henry A. Waxman to the Honorable Hal Stratton (Jan. 13, 2005).
4

Consumer Product Safety Commission, Briefing Package for Petition Requesting Ban of Lead in Toy Jewelry (Petition No.
HP 06-1) (Dec. 4, 2006) (online at http://www.cpsc.gov/LIBRARY/FOIA/FOIA07/BRIEF/LeadToyJewelry.pdf).


2 |
LEAD IN JEWELRY AND OTHER PRODUCTS SOLD IN CAPITOL GIFT SHOPS


II. PURPOSE AND METHODOLOGY

Within the U.S. Capitol, four gift shops sell a variety of charms, pins, necklaces, dishware, and
other Capitol-themed products. One gift shop is located in the Crypt of the Capitol; one is
located on the Senate side of the Capitol; one is located in the Longworth House Office Building;
and one is located in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. These gift shops are visited by
thousands of tourists, interns, and staff every year, including many who purchase items for
children. A typical display of inexpensive jewelry is pictured below.

To evaluate the safety of the jewelry and other products potentially used by children that are sold
in the Capitol gift shops, Representative Waxman and Senator Obama asked the Special
Investigations Division to test items purchased from each of the four gift shops for their lead
content. The items selected for testing were chosen for their likelihood to end up in the hands
(and mouths) of children. Many of the items were small enough to be ingested by a child, while
others might be sucked on or mouthed by children.



Jewelry on Display in a U.S. Capitol Gift Shop

In total, 13 items were selected for testing. These products were sent to an independent
laboratory, Penniman & Browne, Inc., to be tested for their total lead content. Penniman &
Browne used test protocols established by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
5


5
Consumer Product Safety Commission, Interim Enforcement Policy for Childrens Metal Jewelry Containing Lead
2/3/2005, (Feb. 3, 2005).

3 |
LEAD IN JEWELRY AND OTHER PRODUCTS SOLD IN CAPITOL GIFT SHOPS


For purposes of this report, a product was considered to contain excessive levels of lead if the
products lead content exceeded 600 parts per million (ppm). In 1978, CPSC banned the use of
paint containing lead in excess of this level. The states of California and Illinois recently
adopted this standard for lead in jewelry, banning childrens jewelry that contains lead in excess
of 600 ppm.
6
This is also the standard endorsed by the CPSC staff on December 4.
7


III. FINDINGS

Of the 13 items from the Capitol gift shops tested for their lead content, seven items more than
half contained excessive levels of lead.

The highest level of lead was found in a silver-plated
bracelet purchased for $4.95 at the gift shop in the Crypt of
the Capitol. This bracelet had a lead content of 384,594
ppm, which is over 640 times greater than the 600 ppm
standard set by California and Illinois. An eagle pendant
purchased for $7.95 at the same gift shop in the Capitol had
a lead content of 363,463 ppm, which is nearly as high. In
percent terms, the silver-plated bracelet was 38% lead and
the eagle pendant was 36% lead.











Silver-Plated and Gold-Plated




Bracelets
Contained
Dangerous





Levels
of
Lead

In terms of absolute lead content, five of the items contained over 10 milligrams of lead. If
ingested by a child, this amount of lead could cause serious and permanent medical harm, or
even death.
8


6
Legislative Counsel, State of California, AB 1681 Assembly Bill CHAPTERED (Sept. 22, 2006) (online at
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/05-06/bill/asm/ab_1651-1700/ab_1681_bill_20060922_chaptered.html
); Illinois General
Assembly, Public Act 094-0879 (online at http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=094-0879).
7

Consumer Product Safety Commission, Briefing Package for Petition Requesting Ban of Lead in Toy Jewelry (Petition No.
HP 06-1), 3 (Dec. 4, 2006) (online at http://www.cpsc.gov/LIBRARY/FOIA/FOIA07/BRIEF/LeadToyJewelry.pdf).
8

Interview of Megan Sandel, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine, by Minority
Staff, House Committee on Government Reform (Dec. 8, 2006).

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LEAD IN JEWELRY AND OTHER PRODUCTS SOLD IN CAPITOL GIFT SHOPS



Other items with excessive levels of lead included a gold-plated bracelet and a Capitol charm.
Even the bowl of a souvenir spoon which, as pictured below, was not labeled for use by
children but could easily end up in the mouth of a small child contained lead in excess of the
600 ppm standard.














A Souvenir Spoon Contained Excess Lead

Table 1 presents the testing results for each product that contained an excessive level of lead.


T
able 1: Lead in Capitol Gift Shop Items
Exceeds California and Illinois Limits

Item Lead
Content
(milligrams)
Lead
concentration
(ppm)

Factor in excess of
California and
Illinois limits
Capitol bracelet,
silver
6661 384,594

641 times
Eagle pendant with
link
306 363,463

606 times
Capitol bracelet,
gold
2493 144,581 241 times
Capitol dome pin
73
39,346

66 times
Eagle pendant on
cord necklace
227 29,392 49 times
Capitol charm
4
873.8

1.5 times
Souvenir spoon
(spoon bowl only)
6 666.3 1.1 times