Safe toys??

With all the breaking news stories, I feel like nothing is safe anymore. Do you question if your kids toys contain a dangerous amount of lead? Now that the boxes are gone, you see the "made in china label" and get a little nervous. Sen. Patricia D. Jehlen, state Rep. Denise Provost, and the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow is trying to help the Somerville community shop with ease by hosting a day of lead testing.
The testing will be done with a portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) meter. The meter is held against the product, and an X-ray beam analyzes and reports the elements in the product within 30 seconds.
Things to have tested include:
Anything made of vinyl such as children’s toys, shoes, raincoats, lunch bags, handbags, backpacks (for lead, cadmium).
Children’s jewelry (for lead).
Pillows, foam cushions, children’s pajamas (for brominated flame retardants).
Brightly-colored ceramics such as flower pots or old dishes (for lead, cadmium).
Office products with soft plastic parts such as staplers, binders, etc.
Electronics: computer parts, video game controllers, etc. (for lead and brominated flame retardants).
Other products can be tested as well.

Lead testing
Saturday December 1st.
Central Library
79 highland ave.
For more information call: Jehlen’s office at 617-722-1578.