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Children's Jewelry Recalled for High Cadmium Levels; Klobuchar Renews Call for Ban on Known Carcinogen

May 11, 2010

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar reiterated her call for banning the manufacture and sale of harmful toxins in jewelry, including cadmium, after a widely available children’s jewelry item was recalled today for containing high levels of cadmium. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled 19,000 children’s charm bracelets made in China and sold in Claire’s, an American jewelry retailer.

“We need to keep toxic toy jewelry off our shores and out of our stores,” Klobuchar said. “Cadmium is a poisonous metal and puts our children’s health at risk. Given the safety interests at stake, we need to conduct a full investigation into unsafe products from China and stop this once and for all.”

Recent tests show a growing presence of cadmium in children’s jewelry as foreign manufacturers switch from lead – now banned in children’s products – to other equally toxic metals. Studies have shown that direct exposure to cadmium, a known carcinogen, can lead to kidney disease, developmental and reproductive health problems, and if ingested, hinder brain development.

Earlier this year, Klobuchar joined Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) to introduce the Safe Kids’ Jewelry Act in an effort to ban the use of cadmium, barium, and antimony in jewelry marketed for children ages 12 and under. Children’s growing bodies absorb these metals at higher rates than adults do, and long-term exposure increases the risks that the poison will seriously impair a child’s health.

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