Jeff Hajny

    On Nov. 3, the Seward Family Medical Center hosted a screening for lead in childhood toys. The screening was sponsored by Four Corners Health Department.
     Four Corners held screenings in both Seward and York.
     17 families from the Seward area had their toys tested.
     "Toys with lead have stirred a great conversation. The number-one concern is lead based paint in toys and in houses painted before 1978," Kimberly Plouzek, Public Health Assurance Division of Nebraska Health and Human Services member, said.
     Plouzek, along with Molly Goedeker of ATC Environmental, was in charge of the event.
     Lead is a highly toxic substance, which is both odorless and tasteless. In America, more than 400,000 children have been affected by lead poisoning.
     To screen for the lead count, Four Corners used a device which disturbs the lead atoms in the toys. The more atoms that lighted up, the higher concentration of lead was present in the toy.
     If 600 parts of lead per million were detected within the toy, the toy was considered dangerous and will be considered for recall. If the amount is under 600, then Four Corners left the decision to the parents on whether or not to keep the toy.
     Lead may be picked up from many different parts of a toy.
     "When people see wooden toys, they think they are the most dangerous," Plouzek said. "In fact, lead can be molded into the paint in certain toys. It works as a stabilizer and color enhancer."
     Lead may be used in two aspects of toy manufacturing, which are lead-based paint, which is still being used on some toys imported from other countries, and plastic. Lead softens plastic and makes it more flexible.
     Some of the toys with higher concentrations of lead were a child's tool belt with a tool set, the old, antique little people, Tamagotchis, the Fisher-Price stacking rings and the handles on certain squirt guns.
     Children can contract lead poisoning through inhaling or swallowing microscopic amounts of lead dust from the toys they play with or from the paint in their houses. Lead dust can also come from lead-contaminated soil.
     Other sources of lead which can be present around the house include:
     • old bathtubs;
     • metal wicks in candles;
     • fishing weights;
     • drapery and window weights;
     • brass keys;
     • battery casings;
     • old toys or furniture; and
     • certain imported mini-blinds.
     During the screening, a large amount of lead was found in the yellow paint in sippy-cup tops featuring Disney characters. One of the tops held more than twice the legal limit of lead in a toy. All were placed for recall.
     There are no tell-tale symptoms for lead poisoning. Four Corners Health Department recommends having childrens' blood tested once every year until the child turns three.
     "For the first three years of a child's life, that is the most hand-to-mouth time for children," Plouzek said.
     Prenatal exposure to lead can result in premature birth or smaller babies. Lead poisoning can lead to damage to the nervous system, lessen intelligence, affect hearing and behavior and in extreme cases, can lead to comas or even death.