On January 10, 2010, the Associated Press (AP) reported the results of laboratory tests of 103 pieces of low-priced children's jewelry sold by American retailers, almost all of which was manufactured in China. The AP determined that 12 of these pieces contained high levels of the metal cadmium. Following the enactment of recent legislation limiting the use of lead in children's products to trace amounts, Chinese manufacturers have increasingly turned to cadmium for jewelry, because of its low cost and ease of use.

However, the potential risk to consumers may far outweigh the advantages of cadmium to manufacturers. Cadmium is a known carcinogen, suspected to hinder brain development in young children, as well as cause kidney damage and bone deterioration. These concerns have led the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to rate cadmium as the seventh most hazardous substance in the environment. Nevertheless, there are no federal regulations restricting the amount of cadmium in jewelry, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has thus far declined to issue any recalls for items containing the metal.

While all of the jewelry items in the AP study contain cadmium levels of at least 10 percent, it was determined that some of the items contain levels in excess of 80 percent.

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