Mar 23, 2006 11:55 pm US/Central
MN Child Dies Of Lead Poisoning; Bracelet Blamed
by Terri Gruca
Minneapolis (WCCO) ―
A 4-year-old from Minneapolis died last month after he swallowed a charm on a bracelet that contained dangerous amounts of lead.
Reebok is now recalling more than 300,000 pieces of jewelry. The silver-colored bracelets, bearing heart-shaped charms engraved with the "Reebok" name, were given away from May 2004 through March with the purchase of children's shoes in major shoe stores across the country. The bracelets contain high levels of lead, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said.
The death of Jarnell Brown, 4, is the first one health officials can directly attribute to lead in jewelry. Brown died Feb. 22 of acute lead poisoning.
On Thursday, Brown's mother, Juanna Graham, held a photo of her son, one of the only memories she has left. The mother of six never imagined the shoes she bought for herself could carry such a price.
"You wouldn't dream in a million years that something you have on a shoe and walk around with can come off," Graham said.
Graham never knew her son had swallowed the trinket that came with the shoes. Doctors diagnosed Brown's symptoms as the flu.
"He was laying around a lot," Graham said. "He didn't want to play, he didn't want to eat. He was throwing up."
Days later, the family learned the boy had lead poisoning. Investigators believe the charm he swallowed poisoned him and killed him.
Dr. Harry Hull, with the Minnesota Department of Health, said deaths from lead poisoning are rare, but finding lead in costume jewelry is not.
The WCCO-TV I-TEAM was the first to uncover dangerous amounts of lead in jewelry two years ago. The I-TEAM tested costume jewelry and found only one piece that was lead-free. The rest contained as much as 63 percent lead.
Hull said that should serve as a warning for all parents.
"This particular charm was almost pure lead and the stomach acid in the boy dissolved in him and he died as result of that," Hull said. "Get rid of inexpensive jewelry that your child might swallow."
Reebok said it is now reviewing programs to determine if it should add any additional safety measures. If you have one of the Reebok charm bracelets, experts recommend throwing it away.
"I want to assure all of our consumers and our retailers that I will do everything in my power to ensure that no other family, no other child, suffers a similar tragedy," Paul Harrington, president and CEO of Canton, Mass.-based Reebok International Ltd., said in a statement.
Harrington said in a phone interview that the bracelets were manufactured in China by a contractor. He said Reebok was investigating how the bracelets reached the market despite the lead risk.
"I'm conducting a full review of our procedures," Harrington said.
Reebok learned of the child's death on March 10 from Minnesota health authorities, and Reebok sales employees began notifying retailers three days later to stop distributing the bracelets, Harrington said.
The CPSC said nearly 162 million pieces of jewelry have been recalled since the I-TEAM's first story.
The CPSC said removing the lead jewelry from stores is a work in progress and said it hopes to one day eliminate lead in all children's products. It continues to test items being sold but still advises parents to get rid of their costume jewelry if they have children who tend to put things in their mouths.
The CPSC is also recalling nearly 600,000 necklace and ring sets from Dollar Tree stores that have been on sale since September 2003. Those pieces of jewelry also carry the danger of lead poisoning.
The silver-colored, adjustable rings come in a variety of designs with a toy "gem" in the center. The necklaces have a black string with silver-colored clasps and a silver-colored charm with a "gem" in the center.
The packages are printed with "Mood Necklace," Mood Ring," "Glow in the Dark Necklace," "Glow in the Dark Ring," "UV Necklace" or "UV Ring." The "UV" jewelry packaging reads, "The Sun's Energy Will Change The Color." Printed on the back of the packaging is "SKU.815485" and the name "Mannix."
The jewelry was sold at Dollar Tree, Dollar Bills, Dollar Express, Greenbacks, Only $1 and Super Dollar Tree stores nationwide from September 2003 through February 2006.
For more information, call CPSC at 800-638-2772, Reebok at 800-994-6260, or Dollar Tree at 800-876-8077.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
