Mar 18, 2008 1:02 pm US/Central
I-TEAM: Gov't Issues $1M Fine In Lead Jewelry Case
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ―
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Jarnell Brown, 4, died after swallowing a charm off a bracelet like this one. (File)
CPSC
The
Consumer Product Safety Commission issued
the largest civil penalty ever for a violation of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act
Tuesday morning. The $1 million civil penalty is against Reebok International
Ltd. the company that included free charm bracelets with various children's
shoes.
In
February 2006 4-year-old
Jarnell Brown from Minneapolis
swallowed a charm off one of those bracelets and died from lead poisoning.
Reebok agreed to the settlement but denies it violated federal law.
The
I-TEAM first exposed the dangers of lead in children's
jewelry in 2004. Since then the CPSC has recalled millions of pieces of
jewelry including the 300,000 bracelets Reebok included with children's shoes.
The
FHSA bans toxic levels of accessible lead in toys and other children's
products. CPSC's enforcement policy urges manufacturers of children's metal
jewelry to keep lead content below 0.06 percent by weight.
"This
civil penalty sends a clear message that the CPSC will not allow companies to
put children's safety at risk," said CPSC acting chairman Nancy
Nord. "Preventing dangerous metal jewelry from reaching the hands of
children is a priority for our agency."
Since
1977 the CPSC has levied 233 to companies that violated federal rules.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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