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Old Books - A New Source of Lead Poisoning?
Filed under: In The News, Books for Kids
When you think about dangerous books, what comes to mind? That classic list of banned books, titles like "Of Mice and Men" and "Brave New World?" Or newer controversial books, like the Harry Potter series or "King and King?"
How about that lovely first edition of Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" that your grandmother bought for your first born? That's the one you should be worried about, but not because Peter is breaking and entering, or because he gets a spanking. You should worry because that book might very well be poisonous.
I'm not kidding.
Books published prior to 1985 were often printed with lead-based inks and paints. Under the recently passed Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, lead limits in anything intended for kids aged 12 and under is strictly regulated. Lead exposure in children has been linked to lower IQ and criminal behavior.
The U.S. government fears that those old books won't make you smart -- they may cause brain damage!
Don't throw those vintage Little Golden Books out. Incineration may release poisons into the air and landfill, of course, can seep into the groundwater. And whatever you do, don't sell them at your next garage sale. The CPSIA is a fairly Draconian piece of legislation; according to one legal scholar, "Penalties ... can include $100,000 fines and prison time, regardless of whether any child is harmed."
I can't help but roll my eyes at this. I'm all about keeping kids safe, but the CPSIA is just ridiculous. Passed in the wake of last year's revelations that toys made in China contained lead-based paints, its ostensible goal is to keep our kids safe. Instead, as Daniel Kalder of The Guardian notes, "this pencils-up-the-nose, forehead-slapping 'I'm mad, me' stupidity has many negative consequences: traders' livelihoods are threatened; poor people lose access to a source of cheap literature for their kids; libraries may be forced to undertake expensive restocking, while out-of-print books will be lost forever." That's quite a sacrifice to make for what seems like a pretty small risk.
My house is full of books, including quite a few that were published before 1985. Many of my children's favorite books are the ones my parents stored away from my childhood; some of these titles are out of print now, and my copies -- from the 70s and early 80s -- are the only ones available. We also have a nice collection of first-edition Hardy Boys novels that used to belong to my father-in-law. And then there are my husband's rare 18th century rhetoric texts.
Apparently my house is a hotbed of potential lead poisoning. Who knew!
I don't mean to make light of the dangers of lead and lead-based products. Children who live in homes that are contaminated with lead paint have been shown to suffer serious health issues. But the CPSIA goes too far in its efforts to protect our children. Under this legislation, resale shops may sell books published before 1985 only if they pay for testing to prove that the books are lead-free. Of course, if you're selling used kids books for a quarter apiece, you probably don't have the money to pay for the testing, so many thrift stores and second-hand shops are just refusing to stock those books.
And then there are the libraries, which are chock-full of old books, thank goodness. I would rather my sons come home with a 1960-something copy of "Harriet the Spy" instead of a brand new copy of "Captain Underpants." Harriet might poison them, but she'll also make them think. The CPSIA has suggested that rather than get rid of all those possibly dangerous books, libraries could "sequester" them -- in other words, keep them, but keep them in a safe place where kids can't read them.
I'm not sure how that's any different from banning them outright, honestly.
The CPSIA does have a loophole for rare books, which may be resold as long as they are for adult use only. I suppose that's fine if you're buying that very old book (you know, from 1983) as a collector's item, but what if you just want your kids to read what you read as a child? What if you want them to love the books you loved? What then?
There are plenty of things to worry about when you're raising kids -- worrying that a book might make them sick is a waste of energy. If you must, tell your child not to put "The Three Little Kittens Who Lost Their Mittens" in her mouth -- or take it away altogether until she's old enough to read it, not eat it. But don't give up on a whole generation of books. That's just silly.
How about that lovely first edition of Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" that your grandmother bought for your first born? That's the one you should be worried about, but not because Peter is breaking and entering, or because he gets a spanking. You should worry because that book might very well be poisonous.
I'm not kidding.
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Books published prior to 1985 were often printed with lead-based inks and paints. Under the recently passed Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, lead limits in anything intended for kids aged 12 and under is strictly regulated. Lead exposure in children has been linked to lower IQ and criminal behavior.
The U.S. government fears that those old books won't make you smart -- they may cause brain damage!
Don't throw those vintage Little Golden Books out. Incineration may release poisons into the air and landfill, of course, can seep into the groundwater. And whatever you do, don't sell them at your next garage sale. The CPSIA is a fairly Draconian piece of legislation; according to one legal scholar, "Penalties ... can include $100,000 fines and prison time, regardless of whether any child is harmed."
I can't help but roll my eyes at this. I'm all about keeping kids safe, but the CPSIA is just ridiculous. Passed in the wake of last year's revelations that toys made in China contained lead-based paints, its ostensible goal is to keep our kids safe. Instead, as Daniel Kalder of The Guardian notes, "this pencils-up-the-nose, forehead-slapping 'I'm mad, me' stupidity has many negative consequences: traders' livelihoods are threatened; poor people lose access to a source of cheap literature for their kids; libraries may be forced to undertake expensive restocking, while out-of-print books will be lost forever." That's quite a sacrifice to make for what seems like a pretty small risk.
My house is full of books, including quite a few that were published before 1985. Many of my children's favorite books are the ones my parents stored away from my childhood; some of these titles are out of print now, and my copies -- from the 70s and early 80s -- are the only ones available. We also have a nice collection of first-edition Hardy Boys novels that used to belong to my father-in-law. And then there are my husband's rare 18th century rhetoric texts.
Apparently my house is a hotbed of potential lead poisoning. Who knew! I don't mean to make light of the dangers of lead and lead-based products. Children who live in homes that are contaminated with lead paint have been shown to suffer serious health issues. But the CPSIA goes too far in its efforts to protect our children. Under this legislation, resale shops may sell books published before 1985 only if they pay for testing to prove that the books are lead-free. Of course, if you're selling used kids books for a quarter apiece, you probably don't have the money to pay for the testing, so many thrift stores and second-hand shops are just refusing to stock those books.
And then there are the libraries, which are chock-full of old books, thank goodness. I would rather my sons come home with a 1960-something copy of "Harriet the Spy" instead of a brand new copy of "Captain Underpants." Harriet might poison them, but she'll also make them think. The CPSIA has suggested that rather than get rid of all those possibly dangerous books, libraries could "sequester" them -- in other words, keep them, but keep them in a safe place where kids can't read them.
I'm not sure how that's any different from banning them outright, honestly.
The CPSIA does have a loophole for rare books, which may be resold as long as they are for adult use only. I suppose that's fine if you're buying that very old book (you know, from 1983) as a collector's item, but what if you just want your kids to read what you read as a child? What if you want them to love the books you loved? What then?
There are plenty of things to worry about when you're raising kids -- worrying that a book might make them sick is a waste of energy. If you must, tell your child not to put "The Three Little Kittens Who Lost Their Mittens" in her mouth -- or take it away altogether until she's old enough to read it, not eat it. But don't give up on a whole generation of books. That's just silly.
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ReaderComments (Page 5 of 5)
2-22-2009 @ 1:06PM
Gere said...I'd say that the thing that ought to get burned is supermarket tabloid magazines like People and the rest of the brain cell kiilling garbage on display there. Its the reason so many kids and womaen today are addicted to everything that Madison Avenue wants to sell them. If more fpolks read books of that era(85) there would be less dumbing themselves down with the curent crop of PC type books poluting the bookstores.
Reply
2-22-2009 @ 1:14PM
mamabear said...Lead poisoning is bad, try teaching a classroom full of kids exposed to lead as children. But, there are tests, to see if your kid has been exposed. Then, there are treatments (chelation, etc.) to remove it, so it doesn't destroy your brain...
The over-reaction by the government is absurd of course, I started reading when I was 3, I should have tested toxic long ago...you might note that kids with high IQs in the 60's through the 80's probably read the MOST lead based paint books...HMMMM? how does that fair with the research?
Strangly enough, the kids with the Highest toxicity to lead no doubt have the least amount of books read to them....go figure.
Reply
2-22-2009 @ 1:28PM
comeonow said...This lead thing has gone completely nuts. My grandmother, mother and myself spent our whole lives in a home that had lead water supply lines, lead paint, and was filled with old books. I grew up playing with lead based painted toys, and have a 25+ year career in historic restoration that involves daily sanding and stripping of lead paints. Result? Nothing, no high lead levels in any one of us, and we have all been tested. Grandmother died of heart failure at 92, Mom is 86 and going strong, I'm 48 and no problems. We all had/have college educations, had/have complete working metal function. Our IQ's have all tested well above average, mine is 151. This all started with some parents allowing their neglected children to suck and chew on neglected lead coated surfaces. I'm am sick of the mandated micro-management of all of society to try to cure the ills of a few that still won't abide by the all regulations imposed regardless. There are very few high lead exposure related illnesses found in children of responsible, attentive parents that use good old fashioed common sense. Lead poisoning is tragic, don't get me wrong, it's not that it can't happen to a child that is well cared for, but most cases could have been easily avoided with proper supervision.
Reply
2-22-2009 @ 1:34PM
jaMAESLTHUMPER said...This is got to be one of the top 10 absurdities .Tell your kids not too lick the pages! Parents are always looking for a scapegoat when their babies are not born "perfect" instead of accepting that nature is not always perfect.
Reply
2-22-2009 @ 4:46PM
neveragain said...Incredible. jThe government & other agencies expect us to throw out potential educational tools, yet they allow a company to poison our children with a common childhood stable such as peanut butter!
So, it okay to poison our kids with salmonella (which they might get over), but it's not okay to educate them with older books because the might contain lead? What in the world is wrong with our country?!
Side note: Why wasn't the president of the peanut company that knowingly sent out contaminated products not charged with murder?
Reply
2-22-2009 @ 1:54PM
Honor Your Ancestors said...Lead? Just a pretext!
This is cultural warfare against us and our own history.
Reply
2-22-2009 @ 2:01PM
JD said...What a coincidence, Obama becomes president, and all of a sudden half the books in this country should be thrown out.
Reply
2-22-2009 @ 2:21PM
Meredith said...I hope all of you who are outraged about this, whether you are a teacher, librarian, parents, author, illustrator or book lover will contact your legislators and tell them how you feel. They need to hear from more people about the effect of this law on books.
I can think of many wonderful books I grew up with that are now out of print. It would awful if no one had access to them any more.
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
Reply
2-22-2009 @ 4:15PM
LS said...Yep. Written, called, emailed. And one of my "representatives", Senator Tom Harkin (D,Ia) was one of the sponsors of this disaster.
I wrote to him, and received back an extremely condescending letter telling me that this was "for the children". Not only that, he believes that the majority of the lead recall problems come from 'small manufacturers', not large-scale importers, like Wal-mart, Kmart, and the like, who import massive amounts of Made-in-China crap. When I confronted him with the facts (supported by researched and cited information) that over 90% of the recalled items originated in China, he sent me a form letter saying something like, "thanks for your support. Next!"
So, yeah, Meredith, I totally TOTALLY agree with you that we need to keep after these morons. But I fear that the only thing they will understand is sitting on their couches sucking their gums when they're thrown out of office. God willing.
2-22-2009 @ 2:10PM
Janet said...It doesn't make sense. If these kids' books give kids lead poisoning how come the kids who read them end up smarter than the kids who don't? One might more easily conclude that the lead paint makes kids smart. I read a lot as a kid and my IQ tests at 162. Does this mean that if I my kiddie books hadn't contain lead paint it would be 163? Of course, mom didn't let me eat the books, and my mother always made me wash my hands before (and after) I ate anything. Might not handwashing and sensible parenting be a better solution than book-banning, considering the obscene trash that passes for kittie-lit nowadays? Maybe it's all a liberal plot to remove old fashioned morality from kid's reading so all they will have is this politically correct obscene garbage to poison their ethical development.
Reply
2-23-2009 @ 4:33PM
T said...Below are the answers to all the questions CPSC. Get the word out to the people you have elected. There is a Stay right now till Feb 10 2010 on some items for 12 and younger which this effects and the adults in their lives as well as usedbook stores, toys,socks let's make it enough is enough, cut the nonsense Be informed, thanks http://www.cpsc.gov/ABOUT/Cpsia/cpsia.HTML
Reply
2-22-2009 @ 10:17PM
psuguy617 said...This is obviously just another way for the large toy corporations to push their new toys and books. I'll bet the lobbyists they employ are a big part of this new legislation coming to fluition. This is taking things way too far with the government's control of our lives especially when they try to tell me how I can raise my child! Especially in these tough economic times it's sad that they are making it even harder for the average American to give their children a good life.
Reply
2-22-2009 @ 3:12PM
RedX said...All this about the books being posion, most of what is printed today is posion. I mean most are lies, it statrs with race, music, video games and on and on. History is not allways pleasant but it is real and it happened in the past that is why its history. It does not matter what party or race or religon you are parts of history have not been pleasant, they have changed to the better for the most if you do not believe that you have not studied history.. If you got off your butt and tried in the past 50 years you could have made something of yoursellf, look at your new president, 4 terms or 16 years ago no one would have believed the USA would have a black president; well we do! If history is not written and preserved as it happened how will the future children or anyone else know and understand the changes that came about and the time it took to get to this point, they will know that Lincon was on a penney but they will not know anything about the history. This is written by a 63 year old white man that thinhs the truth about the past and history makes a big impact about the present and the future. Do your self a favor learn the truth abous the past present and be the future.
Reply
2-22-2009 @ 4:15PM
Shelly said...My grandfather ( and millions of other little boys ) played with lead toy soldiers. He died at age 89, after falling off a ladder while cleaning his roof gutters. I guess the lead in the toy soldiers finally caught up with him >> sarcasm
Reply
2-22-2009 @ 7:03PM
SMRTNUP said...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 . . .
. . .
Reply
2-22-2009 @ 7:17PM
SMRTNUP said...Check this out . . .
This is One Black Man you can believe in !!! . . .
>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqkMfToY9Pk&eurl=http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=89612&feature=player_embedded
Reply
2-23-2009 @ 3:00PM
Tristan Benz said...I've been writing on a deeper focus about Big Brother vs. our authority as citizens / parents. I'm glad to see this thread!
It's interesting to see what the media chooses to write about - obviously, the politicians that passed CPSIA weren't "in the know" about the fact that old children's books (books period) are a "hot button" for the citizens they "serve." Had they thought this through, perhaps passing a law that is now taking a nation by surprise (i.e. NOT a law born of the will of WE the people) would have gone by without even so much as a whimper by all of us normal people / parents with good old fashioned common sense.
I realize that today's politically correct / environmental audience, like me, cares a great deal about our environment - but why are they not, like me, incensed at the deeper issue - that of law-making that FAILS to consult our good COMMON SENSE - who asked us for our input, as citizens? And who is refusing to hear our feedback now?
Last time I looked, America WAS a democracy built on the power of WE the people. So, why are so many in our media failing to criticize our government for one of the most BADLY WRITTEN (however well intended) pieces of legislation ever to be RUSHED through Congress?
Why aren't more people furious about the fact that our PUBLIC SERVANTS not only FAILED to consult WE the people but they are now REFUSING to hear our voice on this or any other aspect of CPSIA?
When laws are not born of our will and our leaders refuse to make / amend laws so that they are in keeping with the will of WE the people, this great nation ceases to operate as a democracy - go read Heartkeeper Common Room's blog post that gives you the detailed Cliff Notes as to what and who put CPSIA into law - folks, we are headed toward something OTHER than democratic rule.
If this does not disturb parents and citizens alike - that OUR AUTHORITY is being replaced by that of Big Brother (and if you go to my blog you'll read how pthalates are being replaced by...OTHER CHEMICALS...one known to cause kidney damage in rats! - http://www.tristansepinion.blogspot.com) then I have nothing more to say, other than the fact that, when our children are left with NO voice at all - when their government does all of THEIR thinking for them, too, they'll know exactly who to thank.
I'm SO glad to see this post and all of the comments!
We simply cannot afford, at this time in our history, to let so many libraries, businesses, etc. go out of business by a law that serves mass produced product imports (and let's all remember that a LOT OF PRINTING is done in China folks) here in America to "win" via CPSIA. I bet, if we all spoke up and dictated what kind of common sense law we want "on OUR children's behalf" we could write something FAR BETTER than CPSIA.
I'm also glad to see your mention of the threat of what goes into our landfills eventually seeping into our ground water - isn't CPSIA just another class action lawsuit waiting to happen (a la Erin Brockovich)? How will THAT help our children and our environment? We need to contact Waxman and all of our PUBLIC SERVANTS and dictate to THEM, our will.
Great Post!
Tristan Benz
Maiden America
Reply
5-29-2009 @ 12:21PM
Jennifer Taggart, TheSmartMama said...I thought it was ironic that at the bottom of the comment page was an advertisement for Target featuring Dr. Seuss' beloved Cat in the Hat. I am all for reducing chemicals in our children's environment, but the CPSIA is not a well thought out piece of legislation. I am aghast at libraries and thrift stores throwing out all books. Books, with the exception of vinyl covered waterproof books, should have been exempted from the CPSIA. Of course, there are other problems with the CPSIA.
In terms of risk of lead exposure from older books, I have been testing books published before 1985 using a Niton XRF analyzer, and can tell you that I haven't found much lead. I've tested books from the 1900s - 1970s. Yes, I did find some lead - particularly in a 1947 Mother Goose. But I didn't find much. The concentration in the Mother Goose were slightly below 3000 ppm. And I can tell you that in newer toys (not painted or coated), I have found concentrations as high 185,000.
In books, the presence of lead doesn't mean that children are exposed to it - especially in an ink, which completely binds to the substrate (the paper). And I for one will continue to let my children read old books and encourage it.
Reply
2-27-2009 @ 10:27AM
H.C. O'Neill said...I own a used bookstore and had to pull several hundred books off my shelves because they were from before 1985. Even worse, the way the CPSA defines "ordinary books" that may be sold without lead testing specifically EXCLUDES books with staple bindings. Every single Clifford the Big Red Dog and Golden Book had to be pulled off the shelves because of staples. Roughly 1/4 of all my children's picture books for beginning readers had to be removed because of staples. Kids aren't getting lead poisoning from staples.
You can see pictures of what I had to remove here:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3472/3279001289_66f6ef00f2_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3409/3279001383_d861b3462f_o.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3464/3278972049_343b277ea3_o.jpg
Also, the entire premise of CPSIA is inherently flawed. CPSIA presumes the problem was US laws were too lax and that's why tainted products from China entered the country. China actually has STRICTER lead standards than we do, even after the passage of CPSIA. The problem was 100% lax enforcement. China wasn't enforcing their laws and we weren't enforcing our own already adequate laws. The Consumer Product Safety Administration has only 100 inspectors to handle billions of tons of cargo coming into the country.
CPSIA makes legitimate companies that were doing a perfectly good job making safe products jump through costly hoops to prove they're safe... but provided NO additional inspectors to catch those that were the source of the problem. All that additional 'proof' is also generated by the companies themselves. We saw how well self reporting of wrong doing worked for the FDA...
Reply