Old Books - A New Source of Lead Poisoning?

I completely agree with you, thanks!

Im 30 and learned to read before kindergarten, which means I grew up on books before '85. We had stacks and stacks of books ..the same books my 3 boys have today. I am very sad to hear about the lead based ink. Maybe it is ridiculous to say they should be sequestered from the child population...but then again my generation is having a majoy problem with our children being born with special needs, autism being the biggest one. Having a child of my own on the autistic spectrum and hearing about this makes me wonder enough to pack the books up and store them in a closet..as a responsible parent how can I do less no matter how sad it makes me?

I am far more concerned about the recent findings of mercury in 1 out of 3 major brands of corn syrup. Corn syrup is put into every kind of food that is manufactured, but there hasn't been any recalls (even though the study names several name branded products as testing positive for dangerous levels of the substance. I'll keep my old books but ditch most of the convenience food I used to buy at the grocery store.

Yet....smoking is still legal when it is PROVEN to cause all kinds of health risks and death. People can still smoke around their children and then complain about the emergency room bill when their child has an asthma attack. This is a sad way to cover companies butts.

Hmmmm. What is the most popular book in the world and has been around for over a thousand years? What is the one book that uberlibs hate the most? Do you think they are more interested in keeping lead or God away from children? Where have we seen book burning in the 70 years? Time to wake up people.

I am a New York City School teacher and as an educator I think this is a farce and a waste of money. There is not a school out there that does not have books printed prior to 1985, I know for a fact that I have tons in my classroom. Even some of the text books we have to work with are older than that, do you think the Department of Education is going to get me new books? Hll, they did not buy them in the first place, I DID! Does that mean my whole collection of Dr. Suess books go out the window? You must be out of your mind! What are the kids supposed to read? It's bad enough most of the parents of the kids where I work would rather buy their kids a video game than a book, now you are giving them a reason why the kids of today should not read! Do you really think a kid is going to EAT a book? You read with your eyes and your mind not your mouth!

yes, exactly. i grew up in a house full of books - children's classics, victorian novels, 1950s pulp, best-sellers of every decade, plus bountry from weekly trips to the public library and various thrift stores as well as treasures new and old from the school library. most of my siblings have very high iqs and made excellent grades in school and college, and have gone on to have sucessful careers in science, the arts. the military and education. we were taught that books were to be treated with great respect, but above all they were to be enjoyed. please don't let fashionable scare-tactics make you keep books from your kids. as the author says: keep them out of the young ones' mouths, of course, but don't keep them out of their lives.

AGREE AGREE
If these writers and discovery centers put out the warnings, GREAT & THANK YOU, but do not stop at the warnings.
Why do they not include the things that help combat the effects; like Iron supplement to counter the lead poisoning?
If you think about our ancestors, they ate real meat and real vegies, not processed where now they have to add all the good stuff back to them cause they strip the food of the good stuff TRYING TO make them SAFE TO CONSUME.
When these warnings come out everyone should look up what could help us counter the effects and of course double check with their Physicians to make sure the counter actions are safe for the family members and the dosages that would be fesible to do the job right.

If we stop and look at everything around us this earth is habitable but DANGEROUS, so we will evolve to keep living. Hopefully! Hopefully before the bad stuff evolves/mutates.

We shall SURVIVE!

First off, there's no need to yell, we're all as mad as you are about this.

Second... the government doesn't DARE upset China. With the way that they (the gvt) is gutting our economy - by bailing out banks, car manufacturers, and everyone else that's "too big to fail" - by devaluing our dollar, daily. The only ones willing to buy our debt, at the moment, is China, and they're getting darned close to quitting that, on the basis that we simply are not good for it anymore. If the government then turned around and bit the one hand left that still feeds us, our economy would tank faster than it already is.

It is much easier for our "representatives" to come down on businesses within our own borders - because they're too small to fight back - or so the gov't thinks.

That's why it is IMPERATIVE to get out there and make your voice heard. Call your reps, all of them, from your local state representatives all the way up to President Obama, if necessary. Sign petitions, make a total pest of yourself.

We got in this position because we blindly followed every one of the crooks on Capitol Hill... because we nod our heads and walk away when they say, "But it's *for the children*" WHAT'S for the children? Nobody ever asks that. Is it really worth shutting down hundreds of thousands of home-based businesses that did NOTHING WRONG.... "for the children?" ... while still allowing China and other off-shore manufacturers to provide sub-standard building materials? (and now we're finding drywall made in China has toxins in it. Go figure)

Make noise, people. Don't just follow Washington (and that includes Obama) like sheep.

I so agree, Diane! I can't imagine these people choosing to single out American companies, when the chinese products are downright immoral they are so poison.It is amazing! Why is this happening? It's also a good idea to write our representatives, although I wonder if they will bother to care. What a shame. If parents are sitting and reading these "banned" books to their children, and everyone washes their hands afterwards, I see no harm in them being enjoyed for another generation.

Diane i agree with everything you said but things like that will never happen. Today's generation of parents are to lazy and lack the common sense to raise children. You are not allowed to use corporal punishment to disapline your children. Now i don,t condone abuse but a swat on the backside seemed to work 50 yrs ago. Parents now expect everyone else to raise their kids for them. If they fail in school its the teachers fault not the fact the kid comes home and never studies but hits the x-box for 4 hrs. My wife works in pupil services at a school her job included hiring a tutor for a senior who due to discipline problems was suspended so many times he would not have enough class days to graduate $135 a day for a tutor because the parents refused to raise their kid with enough respect to comply with the system and we all have to pay.

LS, Lauren and Ken,

I agree with all of you. We have turned into a nation of whimps!!!

As far as writing, phoning, contacting in every way, our Congressmen, Representatives, etc., I do and always have. I believe that it is our civic duty to do so. We must let them know that they work for us, not the other way around!

I know that there are more folks like you and hope and pray that they contact their elected and appointed officials on a regular basis. The old saying that "The squeeky wheel gets the grease" is very true.

OH SAY CAN YOU SEE ??????????????????????????????????
This is another obvious shot fired accross Our bow in the battle for the MINDS of our youth. . . . We should NEVER destroy useful, informative, mind expanding, truly educational literature purely on the So-Called stated desire to protect American Children. . .
This is NOT about what's ON the books, . .
It's about what's " I N " the books. . .
You'd better believe it !!! . . .
Keep your priceless books, . .
No matter whoever says whatever !!! . . .
. . . . .
Next thing you know, . . Some Communist will discover CYANIDE in the pages of EVERY BIBLE ON PLANET EARTH. . . .
. . . . DON'T DRINK THE PROPAGANDA KOOL-ADE . . .
. . .

Were these books produced in China? I don't think all of them were, so why single out China? If you look back on the recalls on this site, they are also recalls of products made in the US and other countries.

I know it's easy to lay all the blame in China, but it's not correct.

As someone else said: the US is dependant on China. If China were to pull out of the US, the US would have even bigger problems than they have now.