Jewelry Unsafe? Yes When Wrong Test Methods and Equipment Are Allowed

    LOS ANGELES, CA, May 13, 2019 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Safe Jewelry can only be ensured with accurate testing. SB647(Mitchell), which could become a federal standard, includes EPA test methods that were designed to test for Soil and NOT Jewelry. This could result in unsafe products in major retail stores. Exposure could cause IQ loss, behavior problems, other issues and even death.

A 4 year old boy with microcephaly died in 2006 after he swallowed a charm filled with toxic lead. This charm was tested using EPA3050, a test method designed for Soil and NOT Jewelry. In their report, the CDC noted extreme variability using EPA3050, consistent with other jewelry test results using this method. This indicates that EPA3050 could not accurately detect Lead and Cadmium in jewelry. Today, this boy may have still been alive because the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) created valid jewelry methods that produce accurate results to ensure safety.

It is important that products are accurately tested using CPSC methods. However, SB647 goes against the CPSC Safety Requirements, allowing companies to test their products using EPA soil methods 3050a, 3051b and 3052, potentially resulting in jewelry with toxic chemicals to be sold. A single bad test report with wrong methods could result in thousands of unsafe products in retail stores.

The CPSC relies on the results from ICP-OES or similar machines to test jewelry using CPSC methods. However, the DTSC, charged with enforcing SB647, is requesting XRF Machines, even though the CPSC stated "XRF measurements could be classified as having moderate to poor accuracy" and Krusberski noted "In XRF, the random errors include: counting statistics, generator and X-ray tube stability and other instrumental errors."

The CPSC spent years developing accurate test methods and equipment to ensure safe consumer products. To avoid putting children in danger from toxic chemicals due to inaccurate testing, SB647 must follow the CPSC guidelines.

Citizens for Safe Consumer Products is an organization founded to ensure that every consumer product is safe.

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