It’s jarring enough to receive a large bill when you don’t expect it, but to be asked to pay hundreds of dollars for a tainted product you don’t even want to use is even worse. After last year’s lead poisoning crisis in Flint, MI, state officials say that city’s water now meets governmental guidelines for lead. But although many residents still don’t trust the water, now that the state has ended a subsidy program that reduced their water bills, Flint is asking people to pay up. [More]
lead contamination
Homeowners Nationwide Complain About Home Depot’s Lazy Lead Paint Removal
By 5.1.17
The Home Depot’s lead paint removal business is currently the subject of a federal criminal investigation, with homeowners around the country complaining that high-priced contractors hired through the retailer used unsafe practices that endangered lives. [More]
More Ocho Rios Curry Powder Recalled For Possible Lead Contamination
By 12.8.16
A few months ago, some lead-contaminated turmeric turned up in a wide variety of retailers, and also in batches of curry powder from Oriental Packing Company sold under a variety of brands. Now the potentially contaminated turmeric has turned up in more curry powder, this batch all sold under the Ocho-Rios and Oriental brands. [More]
5 Brands Of Curry Powder Recalled Because Of Lead-Contaminated Turmeric
By 8.15.16
Since turmeric is a key ingredient in curry powder, it was inevitable that the recall of some brands of turmeric for lead contamination would eventually lead to the recall of some curry powder. So far, one company whose powder is sold under five different brands has announced a recall. [More]
Turmeric Sold At Target, Big Lots, Supermarkets Recalled For Possible Lead
By 8.9.16
Turmeric is a spice that’s essential in South Asian Cuisine, and sometimes also used to make foods look more yellow or orange. If you’ve bought a jar of turmeric recently, heads up: bulk turmeric from distributor Gel Spice, Inc. that was repackaged under multiple brand names, including bottles sold at national retailers like Big Lots and Target, has been recalled because it may be contaminated with lead. [More]
Bottled Water Expected To Outsell Soda For The First Time Soon
By 8.2.16
It might not come as a surprise to hear that bottled water sales will soon outstrip those of soda for the first time ever. After all, companies have been pushing calorie-free drinks as alternatives to the sweet stuff for some time as consumer preferences have changed. But bottled water’s burgeoning popularity isn’t just about cutting calories. [More]
KIller Flashlight Requires Goggles And Protective Clothing
By 6.10.09
Reading the title of this post, you may think, “well, evidently this is some kind of special industrial flashlight. Or maybe an experimental nuclear flashlight. No one would be stupid enough to put a warning like that on a regular consumer flashlight.” You should know better.
Mattel's Toy Blood Pressure Cuff's Paint Was About 5% Lead
By 8.29.08
Just how much lead was in that toy blood pressure cuff Mattel were so reluctant to recall back in February? The one they said “me federal regulations and international consumer product safety standards?” Well, a reader’s scientist friend working in lab tested it on the equipment there. According to his results, the amount of lead in the paint was 4-5% lead by weight. “For reference,” he writes, “U.S. EPA HUD guidelines set the action limit for paint at 0.5% lead by weight. Any level over 0.5% is considered to be contaminated…Lead paint used on houses 50 years ago had lead content of 2-15%.”
House, Senate Pass Bill That Increases CPSC Budget, Bans Lead In Toys
By 8.1.08
New legislation banning lead and (pending further study) six types of phthalates (chemicals suspected of causing heath problems) from children’s products has passed the Senate and now moves on to President Bush. In addition to banning lead and other chemicals, the bill will require independent testing of children’s products before they can enter the marketplace — a practice many consumers assumed was standard until they found out that Thomas the Tank Engine was covered in lead.
Reebok To Pay $1 Million Fine After Lead Poisoning Death
By 3.18.08
Two years ago athletic shoe giant Reebok announced a recall of 300,000 lead tainted charm bracelets that were given away as free gifts with the purchase of children’s footwear.
Members Of Congress Implore Mattel To "Do The Right Thing," Recall Lead-Tainted Toy Blood-Pressure Cuff
By 2.2.08
56 Members of Congress want to know why Mattel CEO Robert Eckert refuses to issue a nationwide recall for a toy blood-pressure cuff that is contaminated with lead. The affected blood-pressure cuff, sold as part of the Fisher-Price Medical Kit, was recalled exclusively in Illinois after Mattel received a complaint from State Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Legislators want Eckert to stand by a pledge made to reassure a jittery public before the holiday buying season that Mattel would ‘earn back our trust with deeds, not just with words.’
Martha Stewart Takes Lead Poisoning Seriously
By 1.21.08
THE QUOTE:“We take consumer product safety very seriously. We do not comment on pending litigation.”
Over 17 Million Items Recalled For Lead Contamination In 2007
By 12.28.07
Ladies and Gentlemen… Boys and Girls… The final tally for lead recalls is in.
Fisher-Price Pulls Another Lead-Tainted Product In Illinois Only
By 12.20.07
Consumer Reports says that Fisher-Price has finished testing another toy blood pressure cuff and have found that it exceeds the Illinois lead limit for toys.
RC2: Kids Falling Out Of Feeding Chair, Potty-Training Chair Contaminated With Lead
By 12.6.07
It’s been one hell of a morning for RC2. The manufacturer of the infamous lead-tainted Thomas & Friends toys is recalling a feeding chair that 12 kids have managed to use as a launch platform and a “Winnie-the-Pooh” potty-training chair that’s tainted with lead. Funnily enough, only the orange paint used on the “Winne-the-Pooh” plaque is tainted.
Fisher-Price Pulls Lead Tainted Toy In Illinois Only
By 12.4.07
Illinois has tough laws when it comes to dangerous toys, and now Fisher-Price has found itself on the wrong side of the Illinois Lead Poisoning Prevention Act, according to Consumer Reports.
Total Number Of Products Recalled For Lead In 2007 Reaches 16.2 Million
By 11.30.07
While Aquadots grabbed all the news this month, 1,391,800 products were recalled for lead contamination. Most of them were cheap toy jewelry, cars, and action figures. The sort of stuff you see at “dollar stores.”
Toys R Us Tries To Reassure You After Year Of Recalls
By 11.16.07
Toys R Us has written a reassuring letter to its customers outlining its toy safety policies and threatening to discontinue selling products from any company that ignores them. Since Toys R Us still sells Mattel toys and Thomas & Friends wooden train sets, it’s hard to imagine a company that wouldn’t make the cut.
