Document B8dQn3XkVMxBnVZnBzba4Obn8

Doll X-Ray Leads to AUG 86 1978 -A Toy Recall Washington (UP!) _ Half a million models ol ``.Curtaosi .George" thc-toy monkey, ``Scouby-Duo" the pup and iw> olher stuffed animals are being recalled because the printing on their ctatlies contain loo much lead. The Consumer Product Safely Com mission said yesterday that, although no ill-effects have been reported, it has found that the ink used to print the names on the toys' sweaters contains more lead than allowed by safety laws. ` [,,%'* The Commisliiln said the suspect toys invulved are those models of "Cu- rtaus George," "Scooby-Doo," an* Caster chick called `JChick-A-Dee" ami marther dog railed/'Puppy Love" linn wete im|auled fn/ii South Kotea between March, 1377, dnd April of this year. 'J The CPSC said the problem was dis covered by accident /hen Mrs. Kalhe- rine Richardson, , of Randolph, Mass., took her 2-year-old daughter to the doctor for Ireati/eid of a bad cold. When the little wrl balked at sub mitting to an X-rayJ the doctor said he would first XrJy the "Curious George" she had [brought ahmg to staiw her there wasfnuthing to fear. The CPSC saiq the doll's name showed up npaqurfon the X-ray, indieating lead conieet, and the mother complained to the Commission. "The toys can be identified by the numbers K-20, Kil. KM. K-23, K-JS and K-32 impt intiii on a tag affixed lo the toy's scam,"/lie CPSC announce ment said. The Attyle numbers 5465. 1B, 51117. 5760,'2270, 2271, 2285, 2280 and otlli are imprinted on the toy's packaging. Gift Wraps: Kte to- * Disguise? By The Associated Press. Some holiday gift wrappings may be beautiful killers, says a professor who claims tbe|r Ifaotcontents could pots-, on water stglpHefafter being discard- .ed and dumped. Vyfy I Sidney A. Kmt, a professor of `chemistry at Rutgers, University In Camden, says Ms testslfound a high of 14,300 pounds of let d per million pounds of wrapping. "Although we don t know whether a dump will ever old a million ' pounds of wrapping, I its puts It on a relative basis, and In tself. Is an ex traordinarily high leadicontent," Katz said. 1 ' But the figure has a special and dangerous significance for South Jer sey dumping sites, the <3-year-old chemist says. "Our sandy soil Is very porous - and the area generally has a high wa- ter level. When It rains, the discarded wrappings can leak their lead content, Into our drinkingwater," Katt says, i Kati concedes his experiments only simulated conditions, T>ut he notes the Safe Water and Drinking Act limits lead particles In water to .05 ; pounds of Mad per million pounds of wafer. Using less than one ounce of wa ter to dissolve the lead from random paper specimenis, Kata found the lead . levels were 10,000 times above the fed eral safety level. Katz, who has devoted his 20 yean at Rutgen to studying the role of trace elements In environmental systems, recommends alternative pig ments to decorate holiday wrappings. He also stressed the need for more stringent dumping regulations. "This is particularly Important In our area. The sites should either be made to be lined with plastic or with a clay base," Katz says. Katz announced his findings at - the Midwest Regional Meeting of the . American Chemical Society in Fay- 1 rttevllle, Arh., last week. "The Eastern Regional Meeting doesn't take place until sometime In March. And once the study eras com plete, we felt we should take the find ings to the scientific community right away," Katz said. New rules aid workers exposed to toxicQeacD Washington -- (AP) -- The Labor Department today announced stringent new standards aimed at pro tecting 835,000 workers exposed to lead, a highly toxic and sometimes fa tal substance. The new standards, which sharply reduce worker exposure to lead, drew an immediate attack from the lead battery industry and is likely to trig ger complaints from' President Carter's inflation fighter/. The Labor Department's Occupa tional Safety and Health Administra tion (OSHA) announced that its stand ard, effective Feb 1.would limit work ers' lead exposureAo SO micrograms per cubic meter ofair, averaged over ` The lirS^stairaa?d ciliJariS with an initial standard of 100 micrograms proposed by OSHA three years ago. The current standard limits lead expo sure to 200 ndcrograms. OSHA estimates that 100,000 work ers are exrosed lo lead levels In ex cess of 50/nicrograms. When inhaled or ingested, lead can cause severe damage lo the kidneys, central ner vous system and the brain. In some cases, it can be fatal. New rules could cost $3 billion/ The Labor Department/yesterday toughened federal regulations to pro tect workers, theii>femUies and un born children fronyleaj poisaining -- estimating the chadgeruiulU OdSl in dustry 53 billion the first decade. A court challenge was filed immediate- * NOV 1419/8 0 "Lead is a pervasue industrial danger," said Dr. Esta Bingham, head cl the department's Occupation al Safety and Health Administration. She said exposed workers can develop irreversible kidney disease or anemia, run a risk of damiming their central nervous system, aim can become ster ile. I N39150 An estimated K5.000 workers are covered by the standards in industries such as lead smelting, manufacture of lead storage baneries, lead pigments and solder, shin building, auto manu facturing and printing. Grover Wrenn, OSHA director of health standards, said the interim standards could cost industry 5580 million in capiul ex penditure and 5124 million annually and the final standards about 51 bil lion in capiul trod 5250 million to 5300 million annually.