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Vermont Sues Canadian Importer Of Lead Jewelry

Some tested jewelry had 556 times the 'safe' level of lead

December 13, 2007

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Vermont is taking legal action against a Canadian firm it says is importing items of jewelry and other metal products containing high amounts of lead. Vermont Attorney General William H. Sorrell says the jewelry is being sold in retail stores in Vermont and other states.

Named in the consumer fraud suit is Ganz, Inc., of Woodbridge, Ontario.

The complaint makes the case that lead is highly toxic, particularly to young children. Even very small amounts of lead can cause serious neurological damage, including drops in IQ and long-term behavioral problems, while higher exposures can cause acute effects, including seizures, coma or death.

One source of exposure to lead is jewelry and similarly small metal objects, which young children can mouth or swallow, Sorrell said.

While there is no specific government limit on lead in metal consumer products, the staff of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has recommended a cap of 600 parts per million (ppm) for lead in children’s jewelry to protect human health. The Attorney General’s Office has publicly called upon the CPSC to lower this maximum substantially, to a more protective level.

By contrast, 12 of 15 samples of Ganz jewelry, charms, ornaments and similar products offered for sale in Vermont—many of them manufactured in China—have been found, based on laboratory tests, to contain extremely high concentrations of lead: between 8,339 ppm and 435,736 ppm, or 14 to 726 times the CPSC staff recommendation.

Among the 12 items are 4 with lead concentrations of over 333,000 ppm, or 556 times the CPSC staff recommendation.

Sorrell alleges that by distributing products that pose a substantial risk of serious injury, and by not disclosing the presence of lead in its products, Ganz has engaged in unfair and deceptive trade practices under the state’s Consumer Fraud Act.

The attorney general is asking the court, among other things, for a ban on the sale of lead-containing products into Vermont in the future, prominent public disclosure of the hazards associated with lead-containing products sold in the past, refunds to consumers and retailers, stringent product testing, and penalties of up to $10,000 for each violation of the law.

A representative of Ganz has reportedly informed the Attorney General’s Office that the company will adjust its systems to restrict sales of all metal products containing more than 600 ppm of lead from being sold in Vermont, to the extent that there are any such products in its product line, and will be picking up all non-children’s metal products from retail stores in Vermont this week in exchange for a full refund or credit.

Ganz claims that any lead in its children’s products is less than 600 ppm.

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