After the huge scare surrounding lead in products at Walmart and other stores, you would think that companies (both manufacturers and retailers) would be more careful about testing their wares to make sure they were safe. Apparently instead, manufacturers have just started using a different toxic heavy metal instead of lead.

The Associated Press reports that since the increased scrutiny over lead, some manufacturers have simply started using cadmium, an even more dangerous heavy metal. Cadmium is known to cause cancer and stunt brain development in young people. According to the tests, twelve percent of the products tested had at least 10 percent cadmium with some containing as much as 91 percent.

Not only is cadmium just as bad a lead, apparently the Consumer Product Safety Commission is not regulating it. According to the AP,

"'There’s nothing positive that you can say about this metal. It’s a poison,' said Bruce A. Fowler, a toxicologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On its list of the 275 most hazardous substances in the environment, cadmium ranks number seven.

A patchwork of federal consumer protection regulations does nothing to keep these nuggets of cadmium from US store shelves.

While the Consumer Product Safety Commission has cracked down on the dangers posed by lead, it has never recalled an item for cadmium - even though it has received scattered complaints based on private test results for at least the past two years."

Safety is a big deal. You should be able to walk in to a store and buy a product without worrying that it is going to poison you or your child. That is why we wrote an open letter to Mike Duke, Walmart's CEO, over the holidays calling for safe products, responsible business practices, and accountability. In it we highlighted several toys that contained unsafe chemicals, including Cadmium. In particular, according to HealthyStuff.org, the buckle of the iCarly pink belt contains 523 parts per million of Cadmium.

If you haven't already, please take a minute to read more about our efforts to get dangerous toys off Walmart's shelves and sign the open letter.