Pirate costumes seized for lead levels

SEATTLE, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Federal agents seized $10,000 in Chinese-made children's pirate Halloween costumes because they contained 11 times the legal amount of lead, officials said.

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents seized the shipments, which contained 1,371 costumes headed for a Seattle-area distributor. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said the buttons on the costumes were 1,109 parts per million of lead. The maximum is 100 ppm.

Investigators also said a plastic earpiece on the costume was a choking hazard, KCPQ-TV, Seattle, reported.