Lead Screening

Free lead screening kits were just part of the USW’s North American “Protect Our Kids – Stop Toxic Imports” campaign – one tool in our effort to draw attention to the dangers posed by an unregulated, unfair trade system. Because of the increasing presence of lead in toys, we have exhausted our inventory of free kits to distribute.

You can purchase lead tests from manufacturers such as www.leadcheck.com/ in the United States or www.leadinspector.com/ in Canada.

The screening kits are just that – screenings. Consumers can use them in conjunction with recall and other information provided by manufacturers, the government and their doctors. When in doubt about a product’s safety, get it out of your home and away from your family. The screening should not be the sole basis for deciding if a product is safe. If the screening comes up positive, further laboratory testing may be necessary.

The USW conducted Safe Home Sessions in part to use the union’s Health Safety and Environment expertise to demonstrate the proper screening procedure. The LeadCheck kits we were distributing were one of only two consumer kits easily available in the U.S. and Canada and the only one available at hardware stores across the U.S. Follow the manufacturers’ directions.

The independent Consumer Reports tested home lead screening kits and found that most of them, including the ones used in the USW campaign, are generally reliable and useful, though limited, tools for consumers. Read more about their findings here: http://blogs.consumerreports.org/safety/2007/10/testing-the-lea.html

Internationally renowned lead expert and University of Pittsburgh professor Dr. Herbert Needleman agrees that home lead testing is one useful tool for parents. Read more of his comments here: http://www.usw.org/uswa/program/content/4336.php

The bottom line is this: There is no reason that consumers should be forced to arm themselves with any sort of lead screening or testing device when shopping for toys or household items in the richest nation on earth. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is trying to deflect attention away from the real issue when it criticizes parents for wanting to protect their children. Even if the tests are reliable half of the time, that’s information parents failed to get from their government.

The USW screenings are part of a larger awareness campaign to draw attention to our governments’ failures, including failure to protect our kids from toxic imports in the first place.

Talk to your family doctor about having your children’s blood tested for lead and about the effects of lead poisoning. An at-home screening of toys and other items is no replacement for this step.

The USW fought to have these toxins removed from our work places and marketplaces over 30 years ago and now flawed trade and regulatory policies are letting them back in to our stores and homes. To truly protect our families, we need to fix our broken trade laws now! Write your lawmakers, spread the word to friends and family and sign our online petition at stoptoxicimports.org to help address the root of this problem.