Cuomo
NEW YORK - After reaching a settlement Wednesday with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, a pair of retailers will need to stop selling children's jewelry recently found to contain dangerous levels of lead.
Michaels Stores, Inc., and Big Lots signed the agreement, which will be coupled with a national recall of the jewelry by the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission.
"Nothing is more important than the health and safety of our children," Cuomo said. "My office has undertaken an ongoing and extensive investigation into lead levels in children's jewelry, and taken swift, enforceable action to remove contaminated products from stores. I commend Michaels Stores and Big Lots for taking immediate and proactive steps to address the problems revealed by our investigation and for agreeing to safeguards against lead contamination."
Cuomo's investigation included lead detection tests on children's jewelry purchased from a variety of businesses around the state. He says about half of the items contained a hazardous amount of lead.
No money changed hands in the settlement. Automatic penalties will be enforced if any of the companies joining in the settlement violate it.
Other companies signing agreements include A Dollar, Buckwholesale.com, Colossal Jewelry and Accessories, Dollar Days International, Grand 99 Cent Store, Ming 99 Cent City, Pure Allure, Quality 99 Cents, Inc., The $ Limit and Yankee One Dollar.
Lead has been found to cause a variety of different physical problems, especially in children.