Well now they've just gone too far.
[H3 class="post-title entry-title"][A href="http://www.checnet.org/healthehouse/education/articles-detail.asp?Main_ID=700"]Lead poisoning from Christmas Lights[/A][/H3] [DIV class=post-header-line-1]
[DIV class="post-body entry-content"] A small inquiry leads, as usual, to a bigger story. Our outdoor christmas tree lights (Bethlehem Lighting commercial grade tangle-free lights) carry a warning label: "Handling the coated electrical wires of this product exposes you to lead, a chemical known to the state of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm". Incidentally, to also cause brain damage in children -- with no known safe exposure level. (Prop 65, which mandates the law, only addresses birth defects, so if lead only caused severe brain damage in children, but not birth defects or cancer, no warning would appear. A political compromise, no doubt.)
Google helped track this down. This was a california story in 2003, but we missed it. The best summary is: [BLOCKQUOTE][A href="http://www.checnet.org/healthehouse/education/articles-detail.asp?Main_ID=700"][FONT color=#5588aa]CHEC Articles: Holiday Lights and Christmas Trees May Contain Lead[/FONT][/A]
If you've been shopping for holiday lights this season, you may have noticed a warning label on some of them stating that they may contain lead.
... Wire coating and cords are usually made of PVC plastic that may contain lead. Lead is used in PVC for several reasons. For wires and cords, lead makes the plastic more flexible and reduces the risk of fire. Lead is also used in many PVC products to stabilize the color. Lead in PVC products can disintegrate into lead-laced dust.
The labels began appearing on holiday lights, as well as on electronic equipment and cords on other consumer products such as hairdryers, after a number of lawsuits were filed by an environmental advocacy organization in California.
The amount of lead in the lights and other consumer products with warning labels may vary considerably. It is not clear if the amount of lead that is released poses a risk to human health. Some tests show that lead could come off in the hands. Note that nearly all appliance cords are covered with PVC that contains lead.[/BLOCKQUOTE][/DIV]
