Reebok recalls trinkets linked to death

WASHINGTON — Reebok International on Thursday announced a recall of 300,000 promotional charm bracelets after a 4-year-old died of lead poisoning within days of swallowing a bracelet charm.

The silver-colored bracelets, made in China and bearing heart-shape charms engraved with "Reebok," were given away from May 2004 through this month with the purchase of some children's shoes in major shoe stores.

The incident renewed concerns about lead in children's products, especially jewelry.

Since 2003, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has announced 13 recalls of metal jewelry, involving nearly 162 million pieces, citing the risk of lead poisoning.

Also Thursday, the CPSC recalled about 580,000 necklace and ring sets imported by Dollar Tree Distribution, for a lead-poisoning danger.

The packages are printed with "Mood Necklace," Mood Ring," "Glow in the Dark Necklace," "Glow in the Dark Ring," "UV Necklace" or "UV Ring." The "UV" jewelry packaging reads, "The Sun's Energy Will Change The Color." Printed on the back of the packaging is "SKU815485" and the name "Mannix."

More such recalls are likely as the agency continues to emphasize its voluntary guidelines, issued a year ago, limiting lead in children's jewelry to no more than 600 parts per million in any component. "This isn't the last lead-jewelry recall you will see," said CPSC spokeswoman Julie Vallese.

Agency critics say the recalls do not go far enough, especially in light of the 4-year-old's death.

"The CPSC needs to take more proactive steps to reduce, if not ban, children's products that contain lead," including toys and lunchboxes, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., wrote CPSC Chairman Hal Stratton on Thursday.

Lead is toxic to humans, and children are the most vulnerable to lead poisoning, which can cause neurological damage, delayed mental and physical development, attention and learning deficiencies, and hearing problems.

"Nonessential uses of lead, including lunchboxes and children's jewelry, should be controlled or eliminated before children are poisoned," said Mary Jean Brown, chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) lead-poisoning prevention branch.

The Reebok incident involved Jarnell Brown of Minneapolis. According to the CDC and the Minnesota Department of Health, Brown went to the hospital Feb. 16 with flulike symptoms, including vomiting. He was treated and sent home.

He returned two days later, still vomiting, listless and dehydrated. The next day, an X-ray revealed a metal object in his abdomen. A blood test revealed a concentration of lead three times the level considered a medical emergency. Jarnell died Feb. 22.

During an autopsy, the Reebok charm was removed from the boy's stomach. A subsequent test showed the charm was 99 percent lead. CPSC's enforcement guidelines say children's jewelry should contain no more than 0.06 percent lead.

Because gastric acids could have eaten away other metals, Minneapolis health and CDC officials obtained new charms for testing. Some met the CPSC's guidelines, but one was 67 percent lead.

Reebok spokeswoman Denise Kaigler said the company learned of Brown's death March 10 and worked over that weekend to remove any products left in stores.

Material from The Associated Press is included in this report.