ADVANCEMENT OF THE SCIENCE A Potential New Health Risk From Lead in Used Consumer Products Purchased in the United States Laurel Sharmer, MPH, PhD, CHES M Steven Shackley, PhD Anna K Harding, PhD The regulation is intended to prevent chil- Ab s t r a c t The lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule and the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, both enacted in 2008, were intended to protect children from exposure to lead by setting federal limits on lead content Neither of these federal actions, however, addresses a newly recognized pathway of exposure to lead from the use of used consumer products in the home In the study described in this article, the authors purchased 28 used consumer items in the United States in 2004 and analyzed them for lead content using X-ray fluorescence technology Nineteen of the items exceeded the federal standards for lead The amount of lead in the items ranged from 745 parts per million (ppm) to 428,525 ppm The authors' research shows that such items, which are easily purchased throughout the U.S., may contain surface lead concentrations in amounts greater than 700 times current federal limits This article reveals an ongoing public health threat involved in exposure to lead that is not addressed by current laws or regulations Addressing the risk involved in this threat requires continued research, public education, and targeted regulatory action Introduction in 2008 the U.S Congress passed the Consumer Pnicluct Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008 (ELR 4040 2008) Also in 2008, the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (U.S EPA) second-hand furniture with damaged paint (Shanner, Northrup-Snyder, & Juan, 2007) in our study, we purchased 28 second-hand items in the United States in 2004 and analyzed them for lead content; our results are promulgated the Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule (LRRP) Both actions arc intended to protect children from exposure to lead An emerging public health threat not presented here Exposure to deteriorating lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust and soil from old addressed by either the LRRP or the CPS1A, however, is the possible exposure to lead that may occur from the use of old building components that are "salvaged' and resokl to consumers who use them for remodeling work; and a new home decorating fashion that uses antique collectibles, 01(1 dishes and toys, and of elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) reported among U.S children (Levin et al., 2008) The LRRP Rule, which was promulgated in 2008, Volume 73 Number housing continues to be the primary cause includes requirements for training workers, contractors, inspectors, and others who are employed in construction work on "target" housing (i.e., housing occupied by children) dren from being exposed to lead while lead-based paint remediation in 01(1 houses is underway (Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule ILRRP1, 2008) In particular, the regulation applies to older housing that is being demolished or rehabilitated as part of nationwide redevelopment and revi- talization projects, including those funded by the American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Farfel et al., 2003, LRRP, 2008) Much of the focus of rehabilitating houses to remove lead-based paint hazards has been on older rental houses in impoverished neighborhoods Children in families with a higher socioeconomic status and who live in older houses undergoing home renovation by individual family members, however, are at risk as well (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ICDC1, 2009; Lanphear, Dietrich, & Berger, 2003; Mielke, Powell, Shah, Gonzales, & Mielke, 2001) The LRRP Rule does not apply to individual homeown- er renovations (LRRP, 2008) in addition, while much of the focus of lead exposure is on children, recent research reports that low levels of exposure over time also pose a serious threat to the health of adults, causing damage to the heart, kidneys, and brain (Spivey, 2007) The objective of the CPSIA is to prevent children's products with hazardous amounts of lead from entering the retail stream The law went into effect on February 10, 2009, and requires the amount of lead in products intended for use by children and regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to be reduced to no more than 0.01% XRF Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley The items were analyzed whole with little or no formal preparation, although some of the samples required breakage in order to lit BLE I Lead Concentration on the Surface of Selected Second-Hand and Antique Household Items and Comparison to CPSC Standard Item Description Lead (ppm) Number of Times Lead Concentration Exceeds CPSC Standard (600 ppm)1 Possible Use of Item Salt shaker lid-i 428,525 714 Food service Salt shaker lid-2 365,275 609 Food service Small red toy teapot 318,453 531 Food service, toy Garfield cup 277,579 463 Food service Turtle necklace 236,225 394 Jewelry Red pyrex casserole 154,635 258 Food service Ceramic doll head 109,759 183 Toy Dump truck 50,635 84 Toy Small truck 34,383 57 Toy Shutter 23,161 39 Home decor Small vinegar cruet 17,082 28 Food service Potato ricer (handlel 15,783 26 Food service Garden cultivator 11,032 18 Home decor Plastic duck (beakl 10,444 17 Toy Pewter pitcher hid) 6,756 11 Food service White window frame 4,747 Home decor Ice cream scoop 1,063 Food service Pewter bowl 776 Food service Milk glass pepper shaker 745 Food service Japanese wine cup 523