Popular Make-Your-Own Jewelry Toy Cra-Z Art Found to Have High Levels of Lead

A very popular make-your-own jewelry toy line was found to contain a high amount of lead. The top U.S. consumer product safety regulator is reviewing whether to recall the widely sold jewelry-making toy kits.

The result of the Cra-Z Art products that were tested blew the minds of people in authority. It was discovered that the DIY jewelry toy contained 120 to 980 parts-per-million (ppm) lead levels. These lead levels are almost 10 times the maximum limit (100 ppm) that has been approved for children by the federal government.

Elliot Kaye, who chairs the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, said on Friday that he is examining the safety of Cra-Z-Art kits after New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman called on several big retailers to recall them from store shelves. The recommendation does not only apply to Cra-Z-Art kits but also those similar to the kids' jewelry making toy kits that could be toxic to children, Medical Daily reported.

The attorney general said he sent letters to Amazon.com Inc, Sears Holdings Corp's Kmart, Target Corp, Toys "R" Us, Wal-Mart Stores Inc and other retailers, demanding that they stop selling the hazardous products and recall the sets, which his office said were made in China. In a statement by Schneiderman, he explained that it is the manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers' responsibility to make sure that the products for children are safe. "My office's discovery of children's products containing high levels of lead for sale on store shelves in New York points to an alarming breach in the safety net that is supposed to protect our kids from dangerous chemicals," he continued.

According to Tech Times, a similar demand was made to LaRose Industries LLC, a company from Randolph, New Jersey that distributes Cra-Z Art. "Just hours after receiving information about these jewelry making kits, CPSC staff opened an investigation into the safety of these products," Kaye said in a statement. She added saying that the CPSC's investigation will be thorough and quick and that they will make sure that all measures are taken to protect the public.

The 10 Cra-Z-Art sets that were tested had been purchased at nine Kmart, Target and Toys "R" Us stores in New York. The products include Shimmer N' Sparkle Cra-Z-Art Cra-Z-Jewelz Gem Creations Ultimate Gem Machine, Shimmer N' Sparkle Cra-Z-Art Cra-Z-Jewelz Gem Creations Gem Charm and Slider Bracelets, and My Look Cra-Z-Art Cra-Z-Jewelz Gem Creations Ultimate Gem Machine.