An evaluation of lead contamination in plastic toys collected from day care centers in the Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, USA.

Childhood exposure to environmental lead continues to be a major health concern. This study examined lead content within the plastic of children's toys collected from licensed day care centers in the Las Vegas valley, Nevada. It was hypothesized that the use of lead as a plastics stabilizer would result in elevated lead (≥600 ppm) in polyvinyl chloride plastics (PVC) compared to non-PVC plastics. It was also hypothesized that, due to the use of lead chromate as a coloring agent, yellow toys would contain higher concentrations of lead (≥600 ppm) than toys of other colors. Toy samples were limited to those found in day care centers in Las Vegas, Nevada. 10 day care centers were visited and approximately 50 toy samples were taken from each center. Of the 535 toys tested, 29 contained lead in excess of 600 parts per million (ppm). Of those 29 toys, 20 were PVC and 17 were yellow. Both of the two hypotheses were strongly supported by the data.