Bibs sold at Toys “R†Us and Babies “R†Us stores may contain unsafe levels of lead. After three studies and much discussion, there have been no recalls of the vinyl bibs. The offending bibs are decorated with baseball bats, soccer balls, and Winnie the Pooh characters and cost under $5 each from store brand labels including Especially for Baby and Koala Baby. The lead tests done for the Center for Environmental Health found levels as high as 1,800 parts per million in the Toys “R†Us bibs  three times the amount allowed in lead paint.
However, based on two other tests which found lower amounts of lead in the bibs, it is believed that unless the bib was ripped, it would not be unhealthy. Officials from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which regulates children’s products, concluded that even if infants had the bibs in their mouths all day, not enough lead would leach into their blood system to cause harm.
But Patrick MacRoy, director of the Chicago lead poisoning prevention program, and other health officials and children’s advocates argue that the C.P.S.C. uses an antiquated standard for what level of lead in a child’s blood stream represents a hazard. When combined with lead from other sources, including perhaps lead-based paint in an old house or lead-contaminated jewelry, the bibs could still result in poisoning or neurological damage in a child. As a result many environmental and health groups have urged parents to stop buying bibs that have even modest levels of lead.
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