Many toys sold in the U.S. are imported from countries like China and Canada, including relatively inexpensive ones that low-income families are more likely to purchase or receive them as donations. Thus, children from low-income families are likely being exposed to higher-than-normal levels of lead through direct contact with toys and other products that contain lead, an element of concern due to its toxicity even at low levels of exposure. The goal of this blog is to provide low-income families a tool to prevent their children’s exposure to lead and expand this topic toward alerting the public to one of the alarming social and health concerns. Plastic and painted wooden toys, crayons and pacifiers were bought from three different Brockton stores, cut into tiny pieces and tested for lead levels using a handheld x-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF).
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