DATE: Friday, October 10, 1997              TAG: 9710100646

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: FROM WIRE REPORTS 

DATELINE: WASHINGTON                        LENGTH:   48 lines

GREENPEACE FINDS HIGH LEAD LEVELS IN VINYL PRODUCTS

The environmental group Greenpeace warned parents Thursday to keep vinyl raincoats, hats and backpacks away from children because of a lead hazard. Federal officials downplayed the potential risk.

A study by Greenpeace asserted that hazardous levels of lead and cadmium are found in vinyl children's products and some toys, such as plastic make-believe food. They tested items from national chain stores, such as Kmart, Wal-Mart and Toys R Us, many of which are decorated with children's characters.

``Children should be able to play with Barbie, Tweety and Mickey Mouse without being poisoned by vinyl,'' said Joseph DiGangi of Greenpeace.

Greenpeace officials said these products can contribute to lead poisoning if children put the objects in their mouths, and also if the lead turns into dust and children breathe it.

Greenpeace said its laboratory tests found that 25 of 131 products - from rain hats to a doll stroller - contained lead levels close to or higher than the proposed health standard of 200 parts per million in some vinyl window blinds.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission disputed the findings. But several independent medical experts who reviewed the tests called the results credible and said more studies should be done.

``It clearly calls for attention. It's an important warning,'' said Michael McCally of the Department of Community Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.

Some of the products examined by Greenpeace were found to have lead content of 17 to 100 times levels that worried the Consumer Products Safety Commission in its investigation last year of lead in window blinds.

But the federal consumer agency said its own tests on 11 similar toy products did ``not support (the Greenpeace) conclusion.''

The commission said seven products it tested signaled no lead or only ``trace levels'' of the metal, and higher levels found in two other products were not considered hazardous ``because exposure is not likely.'' Tests on the other two products were not yet complete, the agency said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Bradley Angel, southwest toxic-campaign coordinator with Greenpeace,

sits near a table full of vinyl children's products in San Francisco

Thursday.

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