Jane Lerner

The (Westchester County, N.Y.) Journal News

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Parents buying gifts this holiday season might be giving their children something more than the latest hot toy, according to a new report.

A study by an environmental group found traces of dangerous substances in toys, jewelry and clothing sold at national retailers in Westchester.

"There's the potential for children to be exposed to toxic chemicals," said Dan Hendrick, vice president of the New York League of Conservation Voters, an environmental organization that did the report along with Clean and Healthy New York. "These stores play a role."

The environmental group went shopping at Target, Wal-Mart and Party City in White Plains and at Lord & Taylor's, Children's Place, Spencer's and Macy's in Yonkers.

They used a hand-held device called an X-ray fluorescence analyzer, which performs a chemical analysis of an item. Not all of their purchases contained harmful chemicals. But many did.

Among their findings:

• Antimony, a semi-metallic chemical, in six products: jewelry, clothing, a doll, a key chain and a toy train.

• Cadmium, a soft metal, in seven products: a key chain, jewelry, clothing, toy cars, a toy train and a penlight.

• Cobalt, a chemical, in four products: a key chain, jewelry and accessories.

• Lead, long recognized as a danger to children, in three products: jewelry and accessories.

Ken Seiter, a spokesman for the Toy Industry Association, an industry group, said in a statement that all toys sold nationwide already comply with strict environmental and safety requirements.

"The Toy Industry Association works year-round to ensure that U.S. toy safety standards remain the most protective in the world," he wrote.

Scares about potentially harmful toys have become common, said Taka Andrews, who, along with his wife, Brooke Miller, runs Miller's Toys in Larchmont

"There's always some parent group out there trying to raise a brouhaha about the safety of toys," he said.

Parents have been asking more questions about toy safety since a massive recall of toys made in China with lead paint in 2007, he noted. That has made smaller stores like his that sell high-quality items more popular with gift-givers.

"We vet the products we sell," Andrews said. "We do the due diligence for them."

Judy Clements, owner of the Toy Box in Pearl River, has a simple, but ironclad rule about the items she stocks.

"There isn't anything in the store I wouldn't give my children or grandchildren," she said. "That's the bottom line. I am very sure about what I sell."

Federal laws regulating chemical substances haven't been updated since the 1970s, Hendrick said.

The New York League of Conservation Voters is encouraging lawmakers to sponsor proposals to limit or ban products with dangerous chemicals.