Plastic Easter Eggs Contaminated with Lead Paint

March 2008

A chemistry professor at Ashland University in Ohio has made a startling discovery about Easter toys. He discovered that some products, including the plastic eggs typically filled with candy and used in egg hunts, contain toxic levels of lead in their paint.

Lead poisoning can lead to adverse health consequences that can be fatal, and these effects are most pronounced in children. Ashland chemistry students found that Easter egg spinning tops, plastic Easter eggs, bunny hair clips, and chick-style sipper cups all had significant amounts of lead contamination.

Hobby Lobby, the retailer where the toys were purchased, has pulled the merchandise from its shelves. The store is conducting additional testing on the products and cooperating with the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission to initiate a recall. About 310,000 U.S. children ages 1 to 5 have blood lead levels that require treatment or other measures, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.