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The Washington Post reports more than a dozen major retailers including Target, Saks and Gap, are voluntarily halting sales of jewelry that contain more than trace levels of cadmium.
The changes stem from a Center for Environmental Health lawsuit against retailers in California in 2010 and an investigation by The Associated Press of jewelry aimed at children and teenage girls at discount chain Wal-Mart.
The Washington Post reports:
While high-profile recalls of lead-laden toys and jewelry have captured the national spotlight in recent years, cadmium is emerging as the next big threat along the periodic table. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that cadmium can damage the bones and multiple organs. The government has identified it as a known carcinogen that stays in the body for years and accumulates. In jewelry, it’s often used because it’s a cheap, soft metal that melts easily at low temperatures.
The New Times reports at the moment there is no federal standard that limits cadmium in jewelry:
Following the outcome of a legal settlement in California, retailers are voluntarily recalling jewelry across the country, even though the standard is higher than that set out by lawmakers in other parts of the United States.
CBS reported in 2010 the AP investigation found the metal in the entire line of bracelets and necklaces of Hannah Montana aka Miley Cyrus (pictured), a popular teen singer, and that by weight the inexpensive jewelry items (selling for less than $10) at Wal-Mart and other chains contained as much as 91% cadmium:
Representatives of the jewelry industry have argued that the presence of cadmium,, even at high levels, is not by itself proof that an item is dangerous. The important thing, they say, is how much can escape if the item is sucked, bitten or swallowed.
Cadmium, a bluish-white metal, is mined as a byproduct of zinc production. Apart from jewelry, cadmium is mainly used in rechargeable batteries, paint (red, yellow and orange), for electroplating and in the past in televisions.
Image of Cyrus by Chris H. Galbraith / Shutterstock.com
2 Comments
SFuller
Very disturbing to think jewelry may contain cadmium now…
S.Fuller – Figaro Specialist.
Tsar FJX
JEWELRY real gold Karats 14 or18k or Silver 925 They all Contain cadmium for more than 50 years only in minimal parts it has been used to lower the melting point of solders, for example a 10 gr jewelry may contain 0.01 milligram as solder component. However European Union have banned it 10 year ago with a grace period of 10 year to allow technical adaptation,
European Union Did not banned it because its dangerous to wear it, but because the danger is for the jeweler who melt that solder face a danger of breathing evaporated cadmium.
The real problem is for fashion Jewelry, where Taiwan and China Use Lead For the past 30 Year, for the past 5 years since the European Union was tightening the rules they have start using Cadmium instead, They are Using tons of these Heavy metals classified as environmentally TOXIC but who care ?
The Fashion Market and Fashionistas all around the world just Want and can’ t live without Cheap Jewelry for everyday use ( sold from 1 to 50 $ and guess where these items end their life when the Fashionistas owner dislike them, in the trash bin.
Who care also about beautiful Kids Favorite train or other prestigious Cars miniatures made with recycled toxic wastes from Electronic mixed with some fresh metal in order to change the Alloy composition, but don’t be Blind Cadmium is still there
It is Time that corporate America Wake up.
I am not extending this to the beautiful coulour Paints, so many have been wrote about already.
What US just discover now: ? is that we need to care for our children safety, fine
But when do corporate America will look at his numbrium and start taking necessary measures against its own big polluters too who reject into air Dioxins and similar funny deadly or carcinogenics toxic’s in particle smaller that 10 microns ( 0.01millimeter).
By the way i suggest to look at the chemical toxicity classification of benzene
( Benzin or gazoline) It is on the list of watched products causing cancer, If it was not of so big commercial interest and so widely used This chemical compound should be sold only to licensed chemicals engineers, you can check almost all others Benzene family products are on the banned list of chemicals
This was just for info and as a wake up call