By Scott Trano

With the recent recalls of many children’s toys due to hazardous levels of lead, many parents are concerned. So on Sunday morning at the Central Library two elected officials organized
an event where parents and kids could bring toys to be tested for lead. 

State Sen. Patricia D. Jehlen, State Rep. Denise Provost, both Democrats from Somerville, and Elizabeth Saunders of Clear Water Action organized the event to help anxious parents identify anything that could be quietly harming their children. 

Many items, such as old nutcrackers, tested negative for lead or other harmful chemicals. However, Frank Farley brought in a raincoat he didn’t take home. The coat, which belonged to his daughter Valerie, clocked in at a dangerously high lead content of 1390 parts per million of lead.

‚ÄúObviously, it has been thrown out,‚Äù Farley said after learning of the coat‚Äôs true contents.  Jehlen organized the event after hearing concerns from constituents. The Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow brought their portable x-ray fluorescence (XRF) meter to the library for the job. The meter was held against the product, and an x-ray analyzed and reported the elements in the product within 30 seconds. There will not be another test like this for at least some time locally as the XRF meter, which costs between $30,000 and $50,000, makes its way around the country. Its next stop will be Maine.

Besides lead the group was testing for Bromine, Cadmium, and Chlorine. Most of these chemicals by themselves are not dangerous, they point towards other things, ‚ÄúSuch as Brominated flame retardant‚Äù said Saunders.  ‚ÄúThe American Academy of Pediatrics states that an acceptable amount of lead in children‚Äôs products is 40 parts per million. This number was decided as it is the average count of lead in topsoil.‚Äù  The chemicals have been linked to respiratory illnesses and growth defects in small children, she said.