Cadmium, a soft metal more toxic and deadly than the outlawed lead it replaced has been found at very high levels - up to 91% - in children's jewelry sold across the U.S. that was imported from China. Cadmium causes kidney, lung, nerve and bone poisoning at very low levels. Cadmium is a known carcinogen that impairs brain development.
These trinkets are deadly toxic waste. Even touching cadmium can be a problem.
The most contaminated piece analyzed in lab testing performed for the AP contained a startling 91 percent cadmium by weight. The cadmium content of other contaminated trinkets, all purchased at national and regional chains or franchises, tested at 89 percent, 86 percent and 84 percent by weight. The testing also showed that some items easily shed the heavy metal, raising additional concerns about the levels of exposure to children.
These cheap trinkets are sold at Walmart, dollar stores and other stores that sell to poor people.
Some of the most troubling test results were for bracelet charms sold at Walmart, at the jewelry chain Claire's and at a dollar store. High amounts of cadmium also were detected in "The Princess and The Frog" movie-themed pendants.
"There's nothing positive that you can say about this metal. It's a poison," said Bruce A. Fowler, a cadmium specialist and toxicologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On the CDC's priority list of 275 most hazardous substances in the environment, cadmium ranks No. 7.
Because there are no regulations restricting the use of cadmium in jewelry, these potentially deadly products are being sold legally. Make no mistake, these trinkets are deadly toxic waste. They are unsafe for adults and children alike.
Update: Summary of Pediatric Cadmium Toxicity
Clinical Manifestations of Cadmium Toxicity
There is only one reported pediatric case of acute toxicity directly linked to cadmium. In that instance, a two- year-old child who had died from acute cerebral edema was found to have elevated cadmium in the neuroglial cells, as well as cadmium deposition in the renal tubules and glomeruli (Provias 1994).
Skeletal toxicity represents an important component of cadmium exposure. During World War II, individuals from a single village in Japan were afflicted with a metabolic bone disease that is now being called itai-itai (ouch-ouch) disease. This consists of severe, generalized bone pain, multiple bone fractures, osteo-malacia with bone mass reduction, and physical disability (Noda 1990, Anonymous 1971). The area in Japan is located downstream from a river that was the primary discharge for a mine. The surrounding water and irrigated rice were found to have high levels of zinc, lead, and cadmium. As zinc and lead have never been associated with such toxicity in the past, cadmium was attributed as the most likely cause of the symptoms (Anonymous 1971), and mounting pathologic evidence supports cadmium as the cause (Noda 1990).
As to specific effects in children, preliminary work suggests that cadmium is associated with poor fetal growth and subsequent low birth weight.
There is no effective treatment to remove cadmium from the body because it binds strongly to a blood borne protein. Supportive treatment, to maintain potassium levels, is recommended for acute cadmium toxicity.