Lead Poisoning in Children Traced to Car Seats
Car seats are supposed to keep your kids safe. But a recent investigation of six cases of lead poising in Maine traced contamination back to car seats.
A lead concentration of 40 micrograms per square foot is considered high for any surface that a child touches directly. The car seats were found to have concentrations of over 400 micrograms per square foot, and some other areas of the car were over 1000.
The source of the lead is thought to be the parents, rather than the car seat manufacturer. Most of the parents worked for a painting contractor in Maine, another worked in a metal shop. If the parents were exposed to high levels of lead in their workplace, they may have contaminated the car seat and the rest of the automobile.
A number of the parents worked for the same painting contractor who did not provide them with an area to shower and change their clothing before leaving the worksite, as is required by law.