GUEST BLOG - Bruce Lund, Lund and Company Invention, L.L.C. on the Cadmium "Crisis"

When we put the call out for Guest Bloggers a couple of weeks ago, we received this post from toy designer and inventor Bruce Lund. While he originally posted it on his own blog several months ago, it's still relevant today.

Cadmium in Children's Jewelry

By Bruce Lund

Knee jerk responses, ill considered opinions, and unsupported positions based on hearsay or questionable sources are all what led to the CPSIA legislative insanity that continues to grind on and grind up small companies with regulations that are expensive, onerous, and simply wrongheaded. Although well intentioned, the results are not those intended.

On the issue of cadmium levels in children's jewelry, something which has always been in jewelry of all kinds, and has never been identified as a health risk, the Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission has warned against allowing children to play with inexpensive jewelry. That, along with state level legislation may well remove jewelry for kids from the marketplace altogether - all without any science and . . .

“without the benefit of a review of the test data, which AP and its testing partner have not made public or shared with the companies whose products are named in the story. The CPSC subsequently issued a recall for one jewelry item with "high levels of cadmium," but also did not share data – even with the company itself.”

(quoted from the Alliance for Children's Product Safety and CPSIA, and to view previous "Casualties of the Week," visit AmendTheCPSIA.com)

Were cadmium to be a health problem, it would have manifested itself as kidney disease, which is virtually unknown in children. The result is the toy industry and other related industries being ruled on and regulated on the basis of unsubstantiated claims in the media and politicians' knee jerk legislation, not on the basis of fact, scientific risk analysis, or sound judgment.

That almost sounds like craziness to me. Where is the voice of reason? Could it even be heard over the din of today's media-saturated world?

Blog post by Bruce Lund, Founder, Lund and Company Invention, L.L.C.

Bruce's blog can be found here. The blog above was originally posted here on March 30, 2010.


Posted by the Staff of the Alliance for Children's Product Safety