Doctors, parents and health advocates urged the state Department of Public Health to ban toys and children's products that contain lead in Massachusetts in testimony at Framingham State College last night.
The department is considering regulations that would ban lead in toy jewelry, and is now accepting public comments on whether to expand the scope of the rules. The Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, the state chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and others, say the regulations should ban all products containing lead that may come in contact with children under 12.
"Lead is a potent neurotoxin that can harm development," said Eric Weltman, deputy director of policy and advocacy for the Massachusetts Public Health Association. "There is no defensible reason companies should be selling products that contain lead to families with children.
"Parents shouldn't have to worry about whether the toys they're buying contain lead," he said. "The government's responsibility is to protect our children from this invisible poison."
Dr. John Graef of Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, who worked on state laws in the early 1970s to ban lead paint, said lead poisoning is cumulative, meaning that any trace amount can remain in the body and further exposure will add to the level of poisoning. Graef also served as a medical consultant to the state for 20 years and led the toxicology program at Children's Hospital.
Even at 1 part per million, he said, lead can suppress a protein in the brain the body creates to store new life lessons. Larger amounts can cause learning disabilities, reduced IQ, hyperactivity, hearing loss, seizures, comas and death, according to testimony from him and other doctors.
While paint containing more than a certain amount of lead was banned nationally in 1978 by the U.S. Product Safety Commission, it is still legal to add trace amounts of lead to many materials that Americans use every day, according to testimony from Lee Ketelsen of the Clean Water Action Alliance, a member group of The Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow.
The Clean Water Action Alliance in September tested 50 toys made with PVC-vinyl and found 11 of them contaminated with lead, including Go Diego, Go Backpack, Superfly Monkey, Circo Lulu Boots, Lazy Baby, Sassy Bathtime Pals, Spider-Man Backpack and some types of rubber ducks, car seats, lunchboxes, bibs and other products.
"Parents can learn some information about toys containing lead but we can't shop our way out of this problem," said Elizabeth Saunders of Clean Water Action. "That's why we need government regulations."
Zuzka Blasi of Acton said she has "done everything I can" to keep toys made of PVC-vinyl out of her house, but her mother-in-law and sister still try to buy such toys for her children. She said they end up in the trash or the recycling bin.
"It hasn't been extremely difficult yet because I can make the toys go away," Blasi said. "They think I'm overreacting. I can explain it as good as I can, but my children's health is more important than their feelings."
Aloris Query of Framingham, whose daughter she said has suffered from lead poisoning, said the state forced its way into her home to make her remove three windows that contained lead. She and her husband had already identified a pewter tea set and a lead-contaminated Victorian house she and her daughter visited as the sources. She said she hired private investigators twice to help her find the cause of her daughter's problem.
"If the state can come into my home and demand I do hundreds of thousands of dollars of work to it, why can't they do random testing of toys (for lead)," Query said. "I worry anytime (my children) get a new toy, and I can't pay a private investigator $200 every time they get a toy."
She said it was "nearly impossible" to avoid buying a toy from China, where looser standards have resulted in toy recalls because they contained lead paint.
"I think there will be an argument (from industry groups) that tiny parts per million don't cause problems, but it's the cumulative effect," said Dr. Sean Palfrey, a pediatrician at Boston Medical Center. "Somebody has to assume responsibility. We have to be vigilant to stop all sources of lead from getting to our children."
He called for the Department of Health to set the state standard.
Another hearing is scheduled this morning from 9 to 11 at the Department Public Health council room on the second floor of 250 Washington St. in Boston. Other comment may be e-mailed to Reg.testimony@state.ma.us or by calling LouAnn Stanton at 617-624-5220.
(Andrew J. Manuse can be reached at amanuse@cnc.com or 508-626-3964.)
