Restriction of Lead in Children’s Jewellery

李新

In July 2004, four toy jewellery importers announced the voluntary recall of 150 million pieces of toy jewellery sold in vending machines across the US. The US Consumer Product Commission (CPSC) has determined that some toy jewellery contains dangerous levels of lead, posing a risk of lead poisoning to children. Although only about half of the 150 million pieces of toy jewellery actually contain lead, the industry decided to recall all of them due to the difficulty in distinguishing the lead-containing jewellery from the non-lead-containing pieces. (Recall Reference: US CPSC Press Release # 04-174, July 8, 2004)
' W! C( o7 @8 _According to the US Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA), 15 U.S.C § 1261(f)(1)(A), articles of metal jewellery that contain toxic quantities of lead sufficient to cause substantial illness as a result of reasonably foreseeable handling or use are deemed "hazardous substances". According to FHSA, 15 U.S.C § 1261 (f)(1)(A), such jewellery constitutes a "banned hazardous substance" if it is intended for use by children and its toxic lead content is consumable by a child.
3 S( {. A/ {' j1 k  SSafety Level
1 E! k) \# j: K2 nAs recommended by CPSC, the scientific community generally recognizes a level of 10 micrograms of lead per decilitre of blood (10 μg/dL) as a threshold level of concern for lead poisoning. To avoid exceeding this level, children should not ingest more than 15 microgram of lead per day from consumer products nor ingest more than 175 microgram of accessible lead in a short period.
. M3 A' C; N+ \7 M$ VOn 3 February 2005, US CPSC has published a new interim enforcement policy for lead in jewellery.
Lead Testing Guideline
0 j  Y9 w+ F1 Z0 c' N+ c) z& vThe testing criteria for children’s metal jewellery containing lead has been well defined in the Standard Operating Procedure for Determining Lead (Pb) and Its Availability in Children’s Metal Jewellery on February 3, 2005.
+ v* c  U- _" @% \: ZScreening Test for Total lead content
Children’s metal jewellery is first analysed for total lead content. Each component of a sample and the surface coating should be analyzed separately based on Canada Product Safety Bureau Method C-02.4 and the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) Official Methods of Analysis, Vol. 1 Method 974.02.

( r; K, G) }4 y" a, J& o8 mAcid Extraction Test
6 D/ A, m+ ]& u0 W% OIf the lead content of any segregated components exceeds 0.06 percent by weight, an acid extraction test of lead is to be performed on the individual component. This test simulates lead exposure that may occur due to the action of stomach acid on the sample after ingestion into the alimentary tract. The test is carried out for three different contact times with acid (1, 2 and 3 hours) on the sample based on testing methods ASTM C927, C738, D5517 and F963. The combined limit of extracted lead is 175 micrograms.
The original lead free requirement for PAINT and OTHER SURFACE COATING as US CPSC 16 CFR 1303 is still applied for any toys and children’s consumer products. The specified maximum permissible limit is not more than 0.06 % of total lead.
8 O4 M2 s4 P' Q: R& q$ I
For more information on the above information please contact Only Cheng only_cheng@shstc.org
0 K; P+ ?! G3 a' X+ C来源：STC 李昊鹏