Mommy News
Vinyl Institute Statement on Lead Reported in Baby Bibs
(PRWEB) May 3, 2007 -- The Vinyl Institute (VI) today expressed concern over reports that some
vinyl baby bibs sold in the United States might contain elevated levels of lead. The Institute
commended the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for taking action to test the
products for possible lead exposure and for providing information to the public about the potential
risks.
CPSC said that its own testing did not show a likelihood of harm from exposure to lead in any of the
bibs. Nevertheless, the agency said that because pieces of old, deteriorated bibs with lead might be
able to flake off and be swallowed, parents and caregivers were advised to discard bibs that are in
poor condition to avoid any potential exposure to lead. CPSC’s statement and test data are available
at http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PREREL/prhtml07/07175.html.
The Institute said reports on the levels of lead found in the bibs did not make clear whether lead was
a contaminant or was added deliberately. “Lead does not need to be used in babies’ bibs,” said Tim
Burns, president of the Vinyl Institute. “You don’t need lead to make vinyl, and most vinyl products
don’t contain lead.”
VI plans to meet with CPSC to discuss possible actions to educate the public, retailers, importers and
manufacturers.
“This is a lead issue, not a vinyl issue,” Burns said. “It appears that although lead may not have been
added deliberately, it made its way into products from some environmental or workplace source. It is
critical for manufacturers, importers and retailers globally to work together to set and enforce policies
to address these concerns.”
Vinyl has been used safely for decades in consumer, medical, automotive, building and other products.
VI advocates the responsible manufacture and life-cycle assessment of vinyl.
VI is the U.S. trade association for leading vinyl resin manufacturers.
Warning About Cough and Cold Medications
in Children Less Than Two Years of Age
[Posted 01/12/2007] The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) issued a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly
Report (MMWR) article describing three deaths in U.S. infants
aged less than 12 months associated with cough and cold
medications. These medications were determined by medical
examiners or coroners to be the underlying cause of death.
The cases described in this report underscore the need for
clinicians to use caution when prescribing and caregivers to
use caution when administering cough and cold medications
to children aged less than 2 years.
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