Lead Information Package - Some Commonly Asked Questions About Lead and Human Health

Sources of Exposure (continued)

Consumer Products

• Which consumer products are known to contain lead?
• Can I or my family be exposed to lead from using products such as lead batteries and computer monitors?
• How can I determine the lead content of my child's jewellery?
• Which art supplies may contain lead?
• What are the risks involved in using art materials that contain lead?
• As an artist, how can I reduce the risk associated with exposure to lead?
• How do I know if my blinds contain lead?
• How do vinyl mini-blinds pose a risk of exposure to lead?
• How do some candles pose a risk of exposure to lead?
• Does lead in children's toys represent a hazard?
• How do lead shot, jiggers and sinkers pose a risk of exposure to lead?

Which consumer products are known to contain lead?

Lead is used in many consumer products. It is used to manufacture products such as pipes, metal sheeting, and as filler in the automobile body industry. In Canada, the major use of lead is in the manufacture of (lead-acid) batteries, used in automobiles. It is also used in ammunition and solder. Lead pigments are added to glass to prevent radiation exposure from television and computer screens, storage containers for nuclear waste and x-ray shielding aprons. Lead-acid batteries account for the most significant proportion of global lead consumption.

Lead is widespread in the human environment, so manufacturing a product with zero lead is generally not possible. However, trace amounts of lead in a consumer product should not pose a health risk.

Health Canada has developed a Lead Risk Reduction Strategy for Consumer products to protect children from exposure to lead through consumer products. It proposes to regulate, under the Government of Canada's Hazardous Products Act, the lead content of five categories of consumer products that children are likely to come into contact with:

• products likely to be ingested in significant quantities (e.g., children's crayons, chalk)
• products intended to be or likely to be placed in or near the mouth (e.g., pacifiers, baby bottle nipples, crib toys, mouth pieces for musical instruments)
• children's equipment, furniture, toys and other items intended for use by a child in learning or play (e.g., strollers, high chairs)
• products intended for use in preparing, serving, or storing food or beverages (e.g., cutlery, tableware, cooking utensils)
• consumer products intended to be or likely to be melted or burned in enclosed spaces (e.g., candles, incense, fuel for indoor lanterns)

The strategy will serve as the foundation for new lead content regulations under the Hazardous Products Act.

Can I or my family be exposed to lead from using products such as lead batteries and computer monitors?

The risk associated with lead in consumer products depends on exposure to the lead. With products such as computer monitors and lead batteries, where the lead is inaccessible, the likelihood that a person will be exposed to the lead they contain is low. For children, the risks associated with lead in consumer products is greater because they are more likely to put their fingers and other objects into their mouth. To determine the risk associated with lead in consumer products, it is necessary to make a distinction between the total lead content of a product and the migratable or extractable lead content. Total lead content is the amount of lead found in a product, whereas the migratable lead content is the amount of lead released from a product. The amount of migratable lead from a product depends on the product's composition and the treatment it receives. A leaded product that has a coating of paint or other protective covering may have a very low migratable lead potential when new, but if the covering wears off, exposing the lead beneath, the risk becomes much higher.

Regulations under the federal Hazardous Products Act control lead in glazes on glassware and ceramics, and in kettles, toys or other products for use by a child in play or learning, and paints and other coating materials used on the interior or exterior of buildings, furniture and household items, to trace amounts.

Lead in Children's Jewellery

How can I determine the lead content of my child's jewellery?

In the majority of products, it is not possible to look at an item and determine if it contains lead. In general, products containing a large proportion of lead tend to be soft and heavy for their size.

In the case of children's jewellery, it may not be possible to determine if it contains lead by simply looking at a piece. So consumers should ask the retailer for proof that the product does not contain lead. If the consumer has any doubts about such products in their child's possession, they should be removed immediately.

Consumers can tell if a candle has a lead core wick by removing any wax from the tip of the wick, and separating the fibre strands from the wick to see if the candle has a metallic core. If the candle has a metallic core, rub the core on a piece of white paper. If the mark left on the white paper is grey in colour, then the metallic core is probably lead.

Lead and Art

Which art supplies may contain lead?

Art supplies that may contain inorganic lead pigments include inks, dyes, paints and pastels, wax crayons, and colored glazes for pottery or glassware. Artist's paint contains a much wider range of pigments than children's paint and is more likely to include lead-based pigments. Lead came (grooved moulding into which glass is fitted) is often used in stain glass manufacture, and leaded solders are used in stained glass and enamel manufacture, glass-blowing, and jewellery-making.

The Department's proposed Lead Risk Reduction Strategy sets limits on lead content of children's art supplies and craft kits which could release lead vapours during use.

What are the risks involved in using art materials that contain lead?

In general, there is very little risk of health effects on children or other users if they use art supplies containing lead, if use is limited to an hour or two per week. Lead, however, accumulates in the body and can persist for months or years, so materials containing lead should be avoided whenever possible. For younger children, exposure to lead is likely only if there are accidents or misuse, such as tasting or swallowing art materials. Most pigments are unlikely to cause harm if they simply get onto the skin.

When pottery coated with lead-based glazes is fired in a kiln, or when lead solder is used in hobbies such as stained glass, glass blowing, enameling and jewelry-making, the heat vaporizes the lead. These fumes are harmful when breathed in, and may settle on nearby surfaces as lead dust. Hands readily become contaminated with lead when lead came is being used in stained glass work. Lead on the hands may be ingested if people then put their hands in their mouth.

As an artist, how can I reduce the risk associated with exposure to lead?

To reduce the health risks associated with lead exposure, choose lead-free solders, enamels, pigments and glazes whenever possible. To avoid pigment dust, apply paints and enamels as liquids rather than powders, whenever possible. Primary or junior school children should not have access to powdered pigments. Good ventilation and good housekeeping are also very important. This includes firing pottery in a kiln with exhaust ventilation, using rubberized gloves when handling lead came and washing one's hands and workplace at the end of the art activity.
Also, never put a paint brush in your mouth.

Lead in Vinyl Blinds

How do I know if my blinds contain lead?

Inexpensive, 1" (2.54 cm) horizontal PVC (plastic) mini-blinds made in China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Mexico may contain lead-based paint. Since the release of a Health Canada advisory in 1996, these blinds have been voluntarily removed from the market by the manufacturer. Any installed mini-blinds of this nature should be removed from areas where there are children, such as homes, schools and child care facilities.

How do vinyl mini-blinds pose a risk of exposure to lead?

Aging vinyl mini-blinds produce high levels of lead dust when consistently exposed to the sun's UV rays. The degradation of the paint on the slats, as the blinds are exposed to sunlight, causes the release of lead dust which accumulates on the slat surfaces. Aside from inhaling lead dust, there is also the risk that children will ingest lead dust by licking or sucking the blinds.

Lead in Candles

How do some candles pose a risk of exposure to lead?

Some candles have wicks with a metallic core which may contain lead that can vapourize during burning. The resulting lead vapours and dust could pose a significant health risk, particularly to children and pregnant women.

In January 2001, Health Canada issued an advisory warning Canadians not to use candles with lead core wicks. The Department also urged the Canadian candle industry to stop manufacturing and importing candles with lead core wicks as safer alternatives such as zinc, tin cores and plain cotton wicks without metallic cores which exist.

Before buying candles and to allow you to make an informed purchasing decision, you should ask the retailer if they contain a lead core wick. For candles already in your possession, you can tell if they have a lead core wick by following three easy steps:

• Remove any wax from the tip of the wick.
• Separate the fibre strands from the wick to see if the candle has a metallic core.
• If the candle has a metallic core, rub the core on a piece of white paper. If the mark left on the white paper is grey, then the metallic core is probably lead.

If you discover that your candle has a lead core wick, you should discard it.

Health Canada is proposing a regulatory ban on the sale, import, or advertisement in Canada of candles containing lead in the cores of their wicks.

Lead in Children's Toys

Does lead in children's toys represent a hazard?

Under the Hazardous Products Act, lead-based paint is not legal for use on toys sold in Canada. Most toy manufacturers voluntarily conform to European Standards which limit the amount of extractable lead in toys to 90 ppm. Toys made of soft vinyl (PVC) may contain small amounts of lead as a stabilizer. Health Canada's investigations have indicated that very few children's products on the Canadian market made from vinyl (PVC) plastic contain significant amounts of extractable lead.

Health Canada's Lead Risk Reduction Strategy proposes statutory limits on total and leachable lead in children's toys and other products.

Lead Shot, Jiggers and Sinkers

How do lead shot, jiggers and sinkers pose a risk of exposure to lead?

When lead shot, jiggers and sinkers are manufactured in home-based industries or hobbies, there is a risk of exposure to lead fumes and dust. Small manufacturers may be unaware of the hazards and not use personal protection equipment or other safety measures such as adequate ventilation. Without adequate safety measure, such activity will result in direct exposure to lead fumes and lead dust generated by the deposition of these fumes.

Lead shot and lead fishing jigs and sinkers also are an environmental hazard. Lost lead shot, jigs and sinkers add lead to Canada's natural environment each year.