print this page

 
Free lead screening kits are just part of the USW’s North American “Protect Our Kids – Stop Toxic Imports” campaign – one tool in our effort to draw attention to the dangers posed by an unregulated, unfair trade system.

The screening kits are just that – screenings. Consumers can use them in conjunction with recall and other information provided by manufacturers, the government and their doctors. When in doubt about a product’s safety, get it out of your home and away from your family. The screening should not be the sole basis for deciding if a product is safe. If the screening comes up positive, further laboratory testing may be necessary.

The USW is conducting Safe Home Sessions in part to use the union’s Health Safety and Environment expertise to demonstrate the proper screening procedure. The LeadCheck kits we are distributing are one of only two consumer kits easily available in the U.S. and Canada and the only one available at hardware stores across the U.S. Follow the manufacturers’ directions.

The independent Consumer Reports tested home lead screening kits and found that most of them, including the ones used in the USW campaign, are generally reliable and useful, though limited, tools for consumers. Read more about their findings here:

Internationally renowned lead expert and University of Pittsburgh professor Dr. Herbert Needleman agrees that home lead testing is one useful tool for parents. Read more of his comments here.

The bottom line is this: There is no reason that consumers should be forced to arm themselves with any sort of lead screening or testing device when shopping for toys or household items in the richest nation on earth. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is trying to deflect attention away from the real issue when it criticizes parents for wanting to protect their children. Even if the tests are reliable half of the time, that’s information parents failed to get from their government. 

The USW screenings are part of a larger awareness campaign to draw attention to our governments’ failures, including failure to protect our kids from toxic imports in the first place.

Talk to your family doctor about having your children’s blood tested for lead and about the effects of lead poisoning. An at-home screening of toys and other items is no replacement for this step. 

The USW fought to have these toxins removed from our work places and marketplaces over 30 years ago and now flawed trade and regulatory policies are letting them back in to our stores and homes. To truly protect our families, we need to fix our broken trade laws now! Write your lawmakers, spread the word to friends and family and sign our online petition at stoptoxicimports.org to help address the root of this problem.

Before screening, we urge people to first go look at the recall lists, search out the recalled items, bag them up and save them for a political action event later this winter. Then, if you have specific items of concern, such as a bib or teething toy, focus your lead screening on those items. Since the government and corporations are not doing their jobs to protect our kids, an at-home screening is better than no screening at all. Tens of thousands of lead-laced baby bibs would not have been recalled by Wal-Mart if not for a grandmother’s at-home lead screening. 

It’s important to remember that the lead screening is just one tool in our campaign to stop toxic trade. Don’t let the focus shift away from flawed trade policies that allowed these products into our homes in the first place!