Recalls could lead to total ban

WASHINGTON, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is considering a formal ban on lead in children’s jewelry rather than having to issue one recall after another.

Since it first proposed enacting an all-out ban, only the government of China has sent a letter to the commission opposing the move, The New York Times reported Monday.

Federal officials say of the nearly 18 million pieces of children’s jewelry items pulled off the market since 2005, 95 percent of them were made in China.

Big name companies like Mattel, Juicy Couture and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment along with scores of small importers are selling children's jewelry with dangerous levels of lead.

Documents obtained by the New York Times through a Freedom of Information Act request show importers fail to test a large enough sample of delivered goods.

Jewelry is one of the most dangerous places for lead because children can swallow an entire ring or pendant resulting in acute lead poisoning.