Lead in Purses Latest Target by Environmental Group; How Harmful Are They?

Purses and handbags are the latest target by an environmental group. The Center for Environmental Health filed a complaint against 16 retailers saying the lead in purses, handbags, and wallets sold in their stores contain dangerous levels of lead. How harmful are they? We know lead consumption can cause serious health issues. News Channel 7 decided to commission our own tests to get to the bottom of lead dangers.

You have likely heard about the dangers of lead in blinds, some childrens' toys, pet toys, accessories, and now even purses. Scientists for the Center for Environmental Health say they purchased dozens of fake-leather handbags, purses, and wallets from 21 California stores, and that they found levels of lead which exceeded their state safety standards in all but five.
Healthystuff.org also tested more than 100 plastic women's handbags and found lead in more than 75% of the purses analyzed.

Early Symptoms:

• Depression


• Loss of appetite


• Intermittent abdominal pain


• Nausea


• Diarrhea


• Constipation


• Muscle pain

• Long-term lead exposure may cause chronic renal failure, gout, lead line (blue-black) on gingival tissue.


• High blood pressure.


• In females, there is a possibility of miscarriages.


• If brain damage occurs, permanent problems (mental retardation, seizure disorder, blindness, muscle weakness) may occur.

Blood Lead Level in mcg/dL
Treatment
10-14
Education, repeat screening
15-19
Repeat screening, case management to abate sources
20-44
Medical evaluation, case management
45-69
Medical evaluation, chelation treatment, case management
<69
Hospitalization, chelation treatment, case management

Medications:
Chelating agents bind the lead compounds, making them less toxic, and enhance their removal from the body.

Lead Poisoning From How Stuff Works

Greenville mom Anita Baroski says it's something she never worried about before. Her daughter Alexa chews on her briefcase sometimes. Bartoski says, “I think like most things, there are so many concerns that a parent has these days, that you kind of have to do your research, read about it, and ultimately trust your pediatrician to guide you in the right direction."

News Channel 7 purchased 8 purses, a wallet, and bookbag from three area retailers and we took them to a Clemson University testing lab. They put the items in special machine which x-rays a portion of the bag for lead content. They did detect high levels of lead in a copper purse and turquoise wallet. However, Dr. John Sanders says there is no way to know if it could be harmful without a second test to determine solubility.

Some scientists are increasingly convinced that there is --no-- safe level of lead exposure, especially for pregnant women. Greenville Hospital System physician Kerry Sease says children on Medicaid are required to be tested for lead, and finds it in about five percent of them. "It's environmental exposure, so kids are exposed to it through ingestion and inhalation, and so paint chips is the big thing you hear of, older houses," says Sease. Dr. Sease says lead poisoning can affect a child's nervous system, I.Q., and ability to pay attention. She says it can cause irritability, and in some cases even seizures.

Just this year the Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled more than two dozen items, because of high lead content. So how much lead would a child have to ingest or inhale to be affected? Dr. Sease says it depends on the lead and the child. According to Sease, “It may be too much lead, but is it going to be toxic, and how often are you going to be chewing on that? I mean do you have to eat the whole purse?"

The answer according to at least one expert is yes. Clemson University Chief Environmental Health and Safety Officer W. Robert Newberry interpreted the results from the lab. Newberry says results indicate results indicate approximately 100 parts per million of lead was found in the purse. He says that means one would have to eat 10,000 ounces (625 pounds) of purse containing 100 ppm lead to ingest 1 ounce of lead, and even at that level, the purse is not acutely toxic. He says no one can possibly eat enough purse at one sitting for it to be toxic, but the lead would become problematic if ingested for a long period of time.

Now that Bartoski is armed with information to help her read through the headlines, she can concentrate on keeping Alexa safe from the flu! Baby coughs!

Beginning in April 2010, all contractors performing work that disturbs lead-based paint in homes will have to become EPA-certified renovators. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the United States Department of Health and Human Services share the goal of eliminating childhood lead poisoning in the United States by 2010.

SC Lead info from DHEC:

"Hidden Lead Threat To Kids," KMGH-TV, May 4, 2009