Posted on 02/09/2009 7:10:32 AM PST by StarCMC
With Congress saying “get the lead out,” local retailers and librarians are wondering if common sense gets chucked along with it.
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which goes into effect Feb. 10, is meant to protect children from lead-laden products. But when the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission gave libraries two options, get rid of all your children’s books or ban anyone under 12 from entering the library, librarians across the country waited for the punch line. But it never came.
“I was speechless,” said Mary Beth Revels, director of the St. Joseph Public Library. “To know it wasn’t a joke and those were our choices.”
After discussing the situation with the library board, she deduced that they would not pack away the library’s 70,000 children’s books and they weren’t going to close the library doors to children.
“We felt that if libraries didn’t comply with this across the country, that we would be taking a stand of continuing to connect children with books,” Ms. Revels said.
The publishing industry has tested the lead content in books, Ms. Revels said, and the levels are within legal limits. But the commission won’t recognize those tests because they weren’t carried out in a “certified lab.”
“But there are no certified labs,” she said incredulously.
And though librarians can’t give an estimate of how many of their children’s books end up in the mouths of readers, Ms. Revels said they’ve never had to replace a book destroyed by an orally fixated patron.
Luckily, libraries have received a reprieve that will last one year, and the commission will consider which products should be exempt from the law.
But local motorcycle shops that sell kid bikes aren’t so lucky. They will not be allowed to sell motorcycles to children as of Feb. 10.
Motorcycles contain lead parts on the batteries and various other areas of the engine.
“It’s so stupid,” said Mike McBride, owner of McBride’s Yamaha on the Belt Highway. “You’d have to suck on an engine case for hours a day to get any lead out of it.”
He’s got about 10 motorcycles that he’ll have to pull off the showroom floor on the 10th if he doesn’t sell them first, which he said won’t happen.
With fines up to $150,000, Mr. McBride said he’s not going to risk keeping them on the floor. Instead, he’ll pay interest on them until “it gets resolved.”
“I think everybody thought (the commission) would have a flash of common sense, but that didn’t happen,” he said.
Jimmy Myers can be reached at jimmym@npgco.com.
“Whether you like motorcycles or not, this smacks of total government control.”
It’s not just motorcycles. Almost all of those dive-around toys for tots have lead acid batteries in them.
One of these days, sooner probably than later, people are going to say enough is enough. Ban the damn federal government, their minions, and their dumba$$ agencies.
It is all about control. Ban a substance and then you can control people while supposedly getting rid of it. It is a great way to purposely destroy an economy. Come to think of it, I have some lead I’d like to donate....
Has anyone done a study to determine party affiliation of young people who have been exposed to lead?
We’ve been communist for a while. The commission has 2 members right now, but it is normally 3 people. Imagine 3 people determining what is right for 300 million. If that’s not communism, what is?
PS you can thank Nixon for this abomination.
How did consumers survive pre-1972?
So what ever happened to people standing up and saying “go to hell!” “I’m not pulling the merchandise and I’m not paying your GOD*&^%$#$ fine.” And if you stick your nose in my store, I’ll blow it off!” Sooner or later we will adopt this attitiude and behavior, or lose all of our rights to the whack-job left. When, for example, will the slack-jawed, spineless public begin turning in “lead” ammunition to Big Brother for the sake of “the chirrun?”
Has anyone figured out how much lead it takes and over what period of time to have any affect on a human being?
How serious is lead poisoning in America today? How many cases reported last year? In the 20th century?
Dose makes the poison. If some kid is eating massive quantities of lead, retrieved from products with trace amounts or is eating lead paint off a window sill, there is a much bigger problem in that kids life than lead.
They'll end up protecting us to death.
It’s a little known fact that diamonds will burn at high enough temperatures and become CO2.
I am just about there, brother! This is RIDICULOUS. Once they have those books off the shelves, who gets to decide what is worthy of being reprinted?
The following are key statistics from the annual Childhood Lead Registry survey from 2007:
* Children tested: Statewide, 105,708 children under 6 years of age were tested, which is an increase over the 2006 figure of 102,974. In Baltimore City, 17,670 children were tested, a slight decrease from 18,363 in 2006.
* Elevated blood lead level (EBL level): 892 children (or 0.8 percent) had an elevated blood lead level. This is significantly lower than the 1.2 percent in 2006. In Baltimore City, the EBL was 3.5 percent, which is down from 4.6 percent in 2006. By State law, 10 micrograms per deciliter is considered an EBL level.
http://www.mde.state.md.us/PressReleases/1116.html
http://www.in.gov/isdh/19141.htm
Interesting, isn’t it, that the incidence of lead poisoning goes up in urban areas? Marion county is Indianapolis.
SO does this mean that ALL children’s toys which require batteries are now banned???
The current interpretation is that battery covers must have a screw to prevent access.
This will kill the wheelchair industry that caters to ATV quads.
Yeah - nice comment. So I suppose you think the book bannings are a good idea as well?
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