Second-Hand Plastic Toys Contain Toxic Elements That May Harm Your Child

Findings of a new study have revealed that plastic used in some second-hand toys may pose health hazards to children and does not meet safety guidelines.

Toxic Elements In Second-Hand Toys

In a new study published,  researchers tested 200 used plastic toys in thrift shops, nurseries, and homes for hazardous elements.

Using X-ray fluorescence technology to analyze these toys, which include trains, cars, figures, and puzzles, the researcher found that 20 of about 200 second-hand plastic toys tested had traces of nine elements, which include barium, bromine, cadmium, chromium, antimony, lead, and selenium. Some had concentrations that are too high to meet safety standards.

Potential Health Effects On Children

The elements can be chronically toxic if children are exposed to them at low levels over an extended period of time.

Arsenic is a toxin linked to developmental defects, neurotoxicity, skin lesions, cardiovascular conditions, and even cancer. Cadmium is a hormone disruptor associated with breast cancer. 

Exposure to lead can jeopardize the brain and the nervous system.

Children who put these toys in their mouth could be exposed to greater amount of toxins. All the toys tested for the study were small enough to be chewed by children.

"Previously used toys has the potential to create a legacy of chemical contamination for younger children," the researcher said.

The worst offenders were found to be yellow, red, and black plastics. The researcher noted the Lego bricks from the '70s and '80 are among those found to have high levels of toxic chemicals. The researcher said that toys were not tested in those days, but they are handed down.

Consumers Need To Be Aware Of Risks

Second-hand toys make an attractive option for families because they can be handed down by friends or relatives. They are also priced cheaply at charity stores, flea markets, and the internet.

The researcher said that with lack of regulation to cover the resale and recycling of older toys, consumers should at least be aware of the potential harms these toys pose to children.

"While there is no retroactive regulation on second-hand toys, consumers should be aware that old, mouthable, plastic items may present a source of hazardous element exposure to infants," the researcher wrote in his report.

Another potential danger of buying second-hand toy is the possibility of buying items that have been recalled in the past.

"Avoid buying used toys that have no packaging or that are missing some type of label or brand identification, without which it might be difficult or impossible to tell if the toy has been recalled," researcher advised.

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Third-hand smoke is just as deadly as first-hand smoke

Non smokers beware! Frequently visiting smoking areas in houses, apartments, offices and hotels is just as deadly as first-hand or second-hand smoke, shows research. 

Third-hand smoke is a potential health threat to children, spouses of smokers and workers in environments where smoking is allowed, it warned. 

"We studied on mice the effects of third-hand smoke on several organ systems under conditions that simulated third-hand smoke exposure of humans," said Manuela Martins-Green, a professor of cell biology at the University of California, Riverside. 

"We found significant damage occurs in the liver and lung. Wounds in these mice took longer to heal. Further, these mice displayed hyperactivity," Martins-Green added. 

Contamination at smokers' homes is high - both on surfaces and in dust - including children's bedrooms. 

Re-emission of nicotine from contaminated indoor surfaces in these households can lead to nicotine exposure levels similar to that of smoking. 

The research team was surprised to find that the damage caused by third-hand smoke extends to several organs in the body. 

The researchers found that the mice exposed to third-hand smoke in the lab showed alterations in multiple organ systems and excreted levels of a tobacco-specific carcinogen similar to those found in children exposed to second-hand smoke and consequently to third-hand smoke. 

"There is a critical need for animal experiments to evaluate biological effects of exposure to third-hand smoke that will inform subsequent human epidemiological and clinical trials," said Martins-Green. 

"Such studies can determine potential human health risks, design of clinical trials and potentially can contribute to policies that lead to reduction in both exposure and disease," she added in the study that appeared in PLOS ONE. 

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