A new study shows that some school supplies are made of toxic chemicals already banned in children’s toys.
CBS – Consumer News: study found that about 75 percent of children’s school supplies contain high levels of potentially toxic phthalates. New York Sen. Charles Schumer called for new laws to regulate the chemical while discussing the report, which was released by the advocacy group Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ) on Sunday. “School supplies are supposed to help our children with their education, they shouldn’t be harming their health,” Schumer said in an emailed press release.
For the investigation, scientists randomly purchased and tested 20 back-to-school items from New York City dollar stores and other retailers. They found Disney’s “Dora the Explorer” backpack contained phthalate levels over 69 times higher than the allowable federal limit for toys. A lunchbox for “The Amazing Spider-Man” contained 27 times the federal limit, while the Disney Princess lunchbox exceeded the toy limit by 29 times.