By Lisa Wade McCormick, consumeraffairs.com
September 16th, 2007
Two Chinese-made toys for pets sold at Wal-Mart stores contain elevated levels of lead, chromium, and cadmium, according to a forensic toxicologist whose lab tested the products for ConsumerAffairs.com.
Two veterinarians, however, said the levels of toxic metals found in the toys do not pose a health risk to dogs or cats. Whether the toys are a hazard to children and adults who handle them isn't clear.
ConsumerAffairs.com hired ExperTox Analytical Laboratory in Texas to test four imported toys for pets -- two for dogs and two for cats -- for heavy metals and other toxins.
One of the dog toys -- a latex one that looks like a green monster -- tested positive for what the lab?’s toxicologist said are high levels of lead and the cancer-producing agent chromium.
A cloth catnip toy also tested positive for ?“a tremendous amount?” of the toxic metal cadmium, the lab said.
ExperTox also analyzed two other Chinese-made pet toys ?– a cloth hedgehog for dogs and a plastic dumbbell toy for cats. The lab detected cadmium in those toys, but said the levels were ?“about the amount you?’d find in one cigarette?” and not considered significant.
ConsumerAffairs.com purchased the four pet toys earlier this month at a Wal-Mart store in Kansas City, Missouri. All the toys had a tag attached that read ?“Marketed by Wal-Mart stores and Made in China.?”
''Potentially toxic''
Forensic toxicologist Dr. Ernest Lykissa, Ph.D., director of ExperTox?’s lab, described the levels of heavy metals in the green monster and catnip toys as potentially toxic and said
Wal-Mart should pull the products off the market.
?“Or put a warning label on them that says if you put this (toy) in your mouth you will get poisoned,?” he said. ?“There is nothing good about the agents (in these toys) that I?’m reporting to you.?”
Lykissa said lead goes to the brain and causes learning disorders in children. ?“It?’s also implicated in high instances of heart attacks. It is a very heavy metal.?”
Chromium, he said, is a cancer producing agent. ?“It can cause cancer in the bladder and kidneys, and if it?’s inhaled, cause cancer in the lungs. There?’s nothing good about chromium. ?“And cadmium is a horrible thing to get into the body. It creates havoc in the joints, kidneys, and lungs.?”
ExperTox?’s tests on the green monster toy detected what Lykissa said are elevated levels of lead -- 907.4 micrograms per kilogram.
?“That?’s almost one part per million. With that kind of concentration, if a dog is chewing on it or licking it, he?’s getting a good source of lead.?”
The green monster toy also had what Lykissa considered high levels of chromium -- 334.9 micrograms per kilogram.
?“With that kind of chromium in there you have what can be an extremely toxic toy if they (animals) put it in their mouths. And dogs put things in their mouths. If a dog puts this in his mouth, he runs a big chance of getting some type of metal toxicity that may shorten his life.?”
Which is worse?
Which heavy metal -- chromium or lead -- poses a bigger threat to dogs?
?“Toxic burden is toxic burden,?” Lykissa said. ?“You are increasing the burden on the animal by having these in there. A dog is going to get a good dose of chromium and lead from this toy.?”
The lab also detected other toxic metals in the green monster toy.
?“There?’s cadmium, arsenic, and mercury in there,?” Lykissa said.
?“This is not a clean toy. This is toxic. Bank on it.?”
ExperTox?’s tests on the catnip toy detected ?“concerning?” levels of cadmium ?– 236 micrograms per kilogram.
?“That one is worrisome to me,?” Lykissa said. ?“That?’s a big number. It?’s a good dose of cadmium.?”
September 16th, 2007
Two Chinese-made toys for pets sold at Wal-Mart stores contain elevated levels of lead, chromium, and cadmium, according to a forensic toxicologist whose lab tested the products for ConsumerAffairs.com.
Two veterinarians, however, said the levels of toxic metals found in the toys do not pose a health risk to dogs or cats. Whether the toys are a hazard to children and adults who handle them isn't clear.
ConsumerAffairs.com hired ExperTox Analytical Laboratory in Texas to test four imported toys for pets -- two for dogs and two for cats -- for heavy metals and other toxins.
One of the dog toys -- a latex one that looks like a green monster -- tested positive for what the lab?’s toxicologist said are high levels of lead and the cancer-producing agent chromium.
A cloth catnip toy also tested positive for ?“a tremendous amount?” of the toxic metal cadmium, the lab said.
ExperTox also analyzed two other Chinese-made pet toys ?– a cloth hedgehog for dogs and a plastic dumbbell toy for cats. The lab detected cadmium in those toys, but said the levels were ?“about the amount you?’d find in one cigarette?” and not considered significant.
ConsumerAffairs.com purchased the four pet toys earlier this month at a Wal-Mart store in Kansas City, Missouri. All the toys had a tag attached that read ?“Marketed by Wal-Mart stores and Made in China.?”
''Potentially toxic''
Forensic toxicologist Dr. Ernest Lykissa, Ph.D., director of ExperTox?’s lab, described the levels of heavy metals in the green monster and catnip toys as potentially toxic and said
Wal-Mart should pull the products off the market.
?“Or put a warning label on them that says if you put this (toy) in your mouth you will get poisoned,?” he said. ?“There is nothing good about the agents (in these toys) that I?’m reporting to you.?”
Lykissa said lead goes to the brain and causes learning disorders in children. ?“It?’s also implicated in high instances of heart attacks. It is a very heavy metal.?”
Chromium, he said, is a cancer producing agent. ?“It can cause cancer in the bladder and kidneys, and if it?’s inhaled, cause cancer in the lungs. There?’s nothing good about chromium. ?“And cadmium is a horrible thing to get into the body. It creates havoc in the joints, kidneys, and lungs.?”
ExperTox?’s tests on the green monster toy detected what Lykissa said are elevated levels of lead -- 907.4 micrograms per kilogram.
?“That?’s almost one part per million. With that kind of concentration, if a dog is chewing on it or licking it, he?’s getting a good source of lead.?”
The green monster toy also had what Lykissa considered high levels of chromium -- 334.9 micrograms per kilogram.
?“With that kind of chromium in there you have what can be an extremely toxic toy if they (animals) put it in their mouths. And dogs put things in their mouths. If a dog puts this in his mouth, he runs a big chance of getting some type of metal toxicity that may shorten his life.?”
Which is worse?
Which heavy metal -- chromium or lead -- poses a bigger threat to dogs?
?“Toxic burden is toxic burden,?” Lykissa said. ?“You are increasing the burden on the animal by having these in there. A dog is going to get a good dose of chromium and lead from this toy.?”
The lab also detected other toxic metals in the green monster toy.
?“There?’s cadmium, arsenic, and mercury in there,?” Lykissa said.
?“This is not a clean toy. This is toxic. Bank on it.?”
ExperTox?’s tests on the catnip toy detected ?“concerning?” levels of cadmium ?– 236 micrograms per kilogram.
?“That one is worrisome to me,?” Lykissa said. ?“That?’s a big number. It?’s a good dose of cadmium.?”
