# New "Lead Laws" are now applying to Books?



## LamiPub (Nov 10, 2006)

I got this in an email from an online homeschool group I belong to. Hope you don't mind me passing it along.



> URGENT: 1/7/2009
> 
> The Sale of Children's Books to be Banned
> 
> ...


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## Tracy Rimmer (May 9, 2002)

Thank you, Lamipub. 

Being aware of such things happening, or about to happen, is, IMHO, the duty of all home educators, and SHOULD be the duty of all parents. It is ridiculous, time- and money-wasting legislation like this that makes me shake my head and wonder at what kind of future we're looking at.


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## HOTW (Jul 3, 2007)

Big Brother is HERE 

No if's and's or but's

One can see the sense in preventing new manufacture from including these products however to ban the use/sale is cost prohibitive. What ever happened to disclosure statements IOW Let the buyer beware?


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## tomstractormag (Feb 23, 2007)

Can you give a child a book?
Tom


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## Cheryl in SD (Apr 22, 2005)

If you already own it and don't lend it as lending is prohibited. Children's libraries, bye bye.

I called all my representatives today. I called our state AG today. I got two - leave a message, one - How awful, but what can we do? and one - we are closely monitering the situation. I felt seriously under-represented today. I will become a squeaky wheel and call again tomorrow.

Rumor has it that Sonlight Curriculum is laying off people & in a state of confusion. Anyone else know if this is true?

I also found multiple sites calling February 10. 2009, "National Bankruptsy Day". This might be the last straw.


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## cindy-e (Feb 14, 2008)

Cheryl in SD said:


> If you already own it and don't lend it as lending is prohibited. Children's libraries, bye bye.
> 
> I called all my representatives today. I called our state AG today. I got two - leave a message, one - How awful, but what can we do? and one - we are closely monitering the situation. I felt seriously under-represented today. I will become a squeaky wheel and call again tomorrow.
> 
> ...


Sonlight doen't sell used books. Why would they need to do that? just confused, sorry.


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## SimplerTimez (Jan 20, 2008)

Just an FYI...checked this on Snopes and found out that it was false. Here's the link for your perusal:
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/pending/cpsia.asp


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

Oh thank goodness!!


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## woodsman (Dec 8, 2008)

And then again aren't books mostly printed in China? For all I know they're printed with arsenic based ink on radioactive paper...


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## LamiPub (Nov 10, 2006)

The way I read the snopes explanation, is that all _new products sold_ must be _certified lead free_, therefore this would still apply to all the new materials that were made prior to the Feb 2009 date and the snopes article doesn't clarify about "books" not being included. I am still reading it that all the "new" books would have to be taken back and certified before they can be sold because many _new_ items were manufactured before the date. I also read that while the second hand stores are not required at this time to label the items with the certified "label" _all items are still required to meet the cpsia standards_. I suppose if you are sure there is no lead in the items at all, you are safe but any resaler will need to be informed and be sure their items are indeed lead free according to the new standards and law. I still feel this law is too invasive and it is unnecessary to include clothes and books. That just makes no sense to me at all.


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## happyooper (Dec 8, 2002)

Hi, it will take time to read the info on this. however, it is interesting that i should have seen this as i was in the thrift store in hancock,mi. last week and the clerk told me that after the 9th that they would not be selling children's clothing or books for fear of being sued if the clothes or books caused illness etc. the other thrift store in the area said that they would not comply. will see what happens. hp


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## bluefish (Jan 27, 2006)

I read somewhere, on the HT board I think, that the law had been put on hold for one year. I hope so!


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## blessedx5 (Jul 9, 2008)

When they outlaw books...

only outlaws will have books.

:shrug:


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## Stoufferspizza (Feb 9, 2009)

This is still going into effect but the places now have 1 year to reach compliance. This impacts many, many things - such as playground equipment at schools, children's furniture, homemade items for children (such as those you'd find at flea markets/craft shows). The issues in the law that deal with "used" merchandise are quite vague and very open to the interpretation of the person currently in charge. So what one regulator today finds admissable, the next may not. For instance - many "natural" materials are allowed (like cotton) but if the person using cotton on their item for children were to use polyester thread or a zipper - those would have to have been "certified" at some point. We've had three businesses close in preparation of this in our small town already - this affects children's clothing, cloth diapers, big retailers down to little mom and pop shops - it's just incorporating us into the "great machine"


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## happyooper (Dec 8, 2002)

Thank you for the updates. I see this made headline news online yesterday. This is not some scare monger issue here. We will see what happens in a year. Maybe people should buy up clothes for down the road. We used to do that; when we found good buys for our kids for later on we would buy the clothes, put them in bags with an outside label depicting age etc. and put them in storage containers. Every season we would bring out the tote boxes and it was really a savings. People who grew up during the depression or post depression area can relate. Plan ahead, be the "ant" in your family. When people stop being able to buy disposable things they will save thousands of dollars. hp


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## halfpint (Jan 24, 2005)

As far as the books issue, it is true, but they have been given a year for compliance. I am on our local library board, and know that this is going to be fought by the national organization for libraries since we discussed this in our meeting this week. Books were included in the law as there is a very small amount of lead in many inks used in book printing, but you would have to eat or somehow ingest the lead from (what our librarian says) a couple hundred thousand books before getting to a level that would possibly cause harm. Some infants books are also designed to be chewed on.

I'm not sure of any association for used toy or clothes retailers, but I would hope they have organizations that will help keep this from being an overkill issue also.

I'm more worried about the lead in eating/drinking utensils than what is in children's toys/clothes as that is where most of the lead problems come from.
Dawn


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