In California, Santa’s Elves Took to Streets to Check Tots' Toys for Lead

lead testing holiday toys photo Photo Via: New America Media

As part of an outreach program to help parents better understand the effects of lead on their children, there’s a great group of folks that deserve a bit of recognition this holiday season for their efforts to educate and protect kids in California from lead poisoning.

It turns out they’re working off part of a $1.5 million settlement between major toymakers and the state of California after the public outcry over lead in toys that turned into a nightmare for parents, legislators and toymakers not so very long ago.

And in particular, this group of educators from the Center for Environmental Health is focused on those who need the most help understanding what all the fuss is about when it comes to lead in toys by working to educate parents who often don’t speak English by taking their lead testing equipment to the streets in locations they often frequent.

Unfortunately, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that there are roughly 310,000 children with high levels of lead in their bodies inside the U.S., and mostly due to exposure to lead-based paint, but kids who were the happy recipients of this bit of holiday kindness in California are certainly less likely to be among them.

Via: New America Media

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