A recent speech by Inez Tanenbaum, Chair of the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC), indicates that the agency is investigating reports that children’s toys and jewelry manufactured in China contain the toxic metal cadmium as both a surface material and a substrate.  This speech comes on the heels of an Associated Press (AP) investigation that revealed the widespread use of cadmium in these products.  Lab testing conducted in furtherance of the AP investigation revealed a piece that was composed of 91 percent cadmium, with others coming in at percentages of 89, 86 and 84 percent by weight.  The lab tests covered items that were all purchased at national or regional chains, including some from Wal-Mart and Claire’s, a popular costume/fashion jewelry chain.

Cadmium replaced lead as a substitute metal in children’s products since 2008 when Congress focused legislation on lead in children’s toys.  The Center for Disease Control’s list of Hazardous Substances places cadmium, a known carcinogen, in its 7th spot, after such substances as arsenic, lead, mercury and benzene.  The list can be found here.  According to research, cadmium exposure in the very young can alter brain development and exposure can come from oral contact with the jewelry.
This investigation reportedly has revealed a hole in the regulatory framework that should protect consumers from these products.  If the products were painted toys, they would reportedly be recalled and even more troubling, if they were industrial garbage, they would be considered hazardous waste.

According to Gib Mullan, the CPSC’s director of compliance and field operations, the agency has reportedly received dozens of incident reports related to cadmium in products in recent years.  Yet, despite the complaints and their statutory authority to enforce an action, agency representatives have admitted to the media that they have neglected to do so.  Mullan said, "We are a small agency so we can't do everything we think would be a good idea. We have to try to pick our spots."  He further said that, at most, the agency can investigate 10 percent of the tens of thousands of reports filed by the public each year.
Recently, there have been several other high-profile concerns over Chinese products, including the 2007 recall of children’s toys due to high levels of lead, the 2008 recall of melamine tainted milk that killed six babies in China, and the discovery of heightened levels of hydrogen sulfide and formaldehyde in Chinese drywall.