BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                SB 929
                                                                       

                      SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
                        Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
                              2009-2010 Regular Session
                                           
           BILL NO:    SB 929
           AUTHOR:     Pavley
           AMENDED:    April 5, 2010
           FISCAL:     No                                   HEARING  
           DATE:April 19, 2010
           URGENCY:    No                                  CONSULTANT:     
               Rachel Machi                                Wagoner
            
           SUBJECT  :    HAZARDOUS MATERIALS: CHILDREN'S JEWELRY:
                       HEAVY METALS

            SUMMARY  :
           
            Existing federal law  :

           1)Requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to  
             regulate the safety of consumer products including toys.

           2)Pursuant to the Consumer Product Safety Act, provides  
             protection of the public against unreasonable risks of  
             injury associated with consumer products, largely by  
             developing uniform safety standards for those products.

           3)Under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008,  
             enhances safety standards for consumer products, including  
             new specified levels for lead and cadmium content in  
             children's toys and increases enforcement and penalty  
             provisions under the authority of the CPSC.

           4)Under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA), requires  
             that certain hazardous household products bear cautionary  
             labeling to alert consumers to the potential hazards that  
             those products present and to inform them of the measures  
             they need to protect themselves from those hazards.  The  
             FHSA gives the CPSC authority to ban by regulation a  
             hazardous substance if it determines that the product is so  
             hazardous that the cautionary labeling required is  
             inadequate to protect the public.  Any toy or other article  
             that is intended for use by children and that contains a  
             hazardous substance is also banned under the FHSA if a child  








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             can gain access to the substance. 



















































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            Existing California law  :

           1) Under Proposition 65 (the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic  
              Enforcement Act of 1986), lists toxins that are known to  
              the state to cause cancer and reproductive damage.  Cadmium  
              is listed on the Proposition 65 list as both a carcinogen  
              and a reproductive toxin.

           2) Prohibits the manufacture, shipping, sale, or offering for  
              sale of jewelry, children's jewelry, or jewelry used in  
              body piercing that is not made entirely from certain  
              specified materials and specifically restricts the amount  
              of lead that may be contained in jewelry intended for use  
              by both children and adults.  The Department of Toxic  
              Substances Control (DTSC) is responsible for enforcement of  
              these provisions.

            This bill  :

           1) Prohibits the manufacturing, shipping, selling or offering  
              for sale or for promotional purposes children's jewelry  
              containing cadmium.

           2) Prohibits a manufacturer from replacing cadmium with known  
              carcinogens or reproductive toxicants as defined.

           3) Allows DTSC to enforce the above provisions when enforcing  
              the lead jewelry restrictions.

            COMMENTS  :

            1) Purpose of Bill  .  According to the author, SB 929 is a  
              child safety measure that seeks to protect toddlers and  
              young children from cadmium, a toxic metal that has been  
              found increasingly in chilrdern's jewelry.  The author  
              states that this a cleanup measure to AB 1681 (Pavley)  
              Chapter 415, Statutes of 2006, which banned lead in jewelry  
              for both children and adults.
               
               The author states that SB 929 responds to recent findings  
              that show jewelry manufacturers are replacing lead with  
              cadmium instead of using less toxic alternatives.  Like  
              lead, cadmium is a heavy metal that can hinder brain  








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              development in children.  It is also a known carcinogen and  
              reproductive toxicant.

              According to the author, while the CPSC has the authority  
              to go after items with high cadmium content under the FHSA,  
              the agency has never pursued an enforcement action against  
              a product with high levels of the heavy metal, until it  
              recently recalled a handful of specific jewelry items  
              highlighted in a recent Associated Press investigation.   
              The agency now recommends that parents dispose of any piece  
              of inexpensive metal jewelry.

              The author states that several retailers, including  
              Wal-Mart and Claries, have pulled cadmium tainted jewelry  
              off store shelves.  The Walt Disney Co. has release a  
              letter to vendors setting a zero tolerance policy for  
              cadmium in any children's jewelry bearing its brand and  
              K-Mart has pulled Hello Kitty merchandise from its  
              inventory.

            2)What is cadmium?   Cadmium is a natural element in the  
             earth's crust.  It is usually found as a mineral combined  
             with other elements such as oxygen (cadmium oxide), chlorine  
             (cadmium chloride), or sulfur (cadmium sulfate, cadmium  
             sulfide).  All soils and rocks, including coal and mineral  
             fertilizers, contain some cadmium.  Most cadmium used in the  
             United States is extracted during the production of other  
             metals like zinc, lead, and copper.  Cadmium does not  
             corrode easily and has many uses, including batteries,  
             pigments, metal coatings, and plastics.

            3)Health impacts of cadmium  .  Breathing high levels of cadmium  
             can severely damage the lungs.  Eating food or drinking  
             water with very high levels severely irritates the stomach,  
             leading to vomiting and diarrhea.  Long-term exposure to  
             lower levels of cadmium in air, food, or water leads to a  
             buildup of cadmium in the kidneys and possible kidney  
             disease.  Other long-term effects are lung damage and  
             fragile bones.  The Department of Health and Human Services  
             (DHHS) has determined that cadmium and cadmium compounds are  
             known human carcinogens.

              According to the CSPC, cadmium does not have to be ingested  
              by children for them to be exposed to the metal.  They  








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              simply have to bite or suck on jewelry items to be exposed  
              to a high level of the element.  Studies show that cadmium  
              can remain in the human body for more than two decades.

            4)Health impacts of cadmium exposure on children  .  The health  
             effects in children are expected to be similar to the  
             effects seen in adults (kidney, lung, and bone damage  
             depending on the route of exposure).  Some studies in  
             animals indicate that younger animals absorb more cadmium  
             than adults.  Animal studies also indicate that the young  
             are more susceptible than adults to a loss of bone and  
             decreased bone strength from exposure to cadmium.  We don't  
             know if cadmium causes birth defects in people.  The babies  
             of animals exposed to high levels of cadmium during  
             pregnancy had changes in behavior and learning ability.   
             There is also some information from animal studies that high  
             enough exposures to cadmium before birth can reduce body  
             weights and affect the skeleton in the developing young.

            5)Related legislation  .  AB 1681 (Pavley) Chapter 415, Statutes  
             of 2006, restricted lead in jewelry for children and adults.

           AB 2901 (Brownley) Chapter 575, Statutes of 2008, clarified  
             DTSC's enforcement authority to enter locations and obtain  
             samples of suspect lead jewelry and packaging.

           H.R. 3328 (Speier) would prohibit the manufacture and sale of  
             children's jewelry containing cadmium, barium or antimony.   
             This measure is currently pending in Congress.

           S. 2975 (Shumer) would prohibit the manufacture and sale of  
             children's jewelry containing cadmium, barium or antimony.   
             This measure is currently pending in Congress.

            6)Other states' measures on cadmium in jewelry  .  Washington  
             state enacted a ban in 2008 on cadmium in children's  
             products greater than 40 parts per million.

           There are seven other states currently considering bans on  
             cadmium in children's jewelry: Connecticut, Florida,  
             Illinois, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Jersey and New York.

            7)Proponents' arguments  .  According to the sponsors, over the  
             last several decades, children have faced an increasingly  








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             challenging time just making it through what should be  
             normal stages of growth and development.  Incidences of  
             reproductive defects, childhood obesity, early onset  
             puberty, learning disabilities and many other chronic health  
             problems are on the rise.  The sponsor asserts that many of  
             these problems have been linked with exposure to toxic  
             chemicals.

           Of particular concern for the sponsors are those toxic  
             chemicals found in products children use and play with every  
             day, such as their toys and potentially jewelry.  In 2006,  
             California enacted the first law in the nation which banned  
             the powerful neurotoxin, lead, in both adult and children's  
             jewelry in California.  Two years later, because of  
             increasing concerns across the nation, the federal  
             government enacted strict lead limits nationwide in  
             children's toys and products.

           We are now learning that some foreign manufacturers are  
             replacing one dangerous metal; lead, with another, cadmium.   
             Alarmingly, one U.S. investigation in January revealed some  
             bracelets and other pendants contained cadmium levels as  
             high as 60 and 90 percent by weight.

           In response, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission in 2010  
             released a safety alert when they discovered the extremely  
             high cadmium concentrations in children's jewelry.  While  
             the 2008 federal regulations limit cadmium concentrations in  
             toy coatings, there is no limit or ban on cadmium in  
             children's jewelry.  The sponsor asserts that this loophole  
             must be closed.

            8)Traceable levels  .  Similar to the statute concerning lead in  
             jewelry, should this bill have a threshold level for cadmium  
             that accounts for detectability?  Both the federal toy  
             standard for cadmium and the Washington State jewelry  
             standard set threshold levels of 75 parts per million (ppm)  
             and 40 ppm respectively.  A standard of 75 parts per million  
             by weight would assist in ensuring enforceability of the  
             standard.

            9)Green Chemistry  .  The Green Chemistry Initiative and the  
             related programs are intended to identify and prioritize  
             chemicals and products of concern.  Since cadmium is an  








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             already known carcinogen and reproductive toxicant, and  
             safer alternatives for jewelry are known, the author  
             believes that immediate legislative action is warranted,  
             rather than waiting for these products to be drawn into the  
             green chemistry regulatory scheme.  However, an amendment  
             should clarify that nothing in this bill prevents DTSC from  
             considering cadmium, or cadmium in jewelry, and potential  
             alternatives as part of the green chemistry process.

            SOURCE :        American Association of University Women  
                          Center for Environmental Health

            SUPPORT  :       Environment California
                          Environmental Working Group
                          Sierra Club

            OPPOSITION  :    None of file