Health Canada has now issued an advisory for Canadian consumers regarding cadmium in jewellery. They state, “Health Canada … has concerns that cadmium, which is a carcinogen, may be increasingly substituted for lead in inexpensive jewellery.

Although there are clear guidelines on lead levels in jewellery intended for children under 15 years of age, there are no regulatory requirements for cadmium levels in children’s jewellery.

Health Canada advises that to keep children safe, parents

• discard any jewellery they suspect may contain lead or cadmium.
• do not give any adult jewellery to young children.
• do not allow children to put jewellery in their mouths.
• should ask your doctor to test your child’s blood for lead or cadmium if you believe they may be at risk due to contact with said jewellery.
• contact emergency if a child injests something you suspect of containing lead or cadmium.

For further information or to see a list of specifically recalled items, visit Health Canada Advises Consumers of Lead and Cadmium Hazard in Children’s Jewellery.

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/advisories-avis/_2010/2010_07-eng.php

Tags: cadmium, canada, children's jewellery, lead, safety

This entry was posted on Monday, January 18th, 2010 at 2:06 pm and is filed under Children & Family. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.