WASHINGTON - Lurking on library shelves may be a potentially toxic level of lead contained in the covers of some children's books. And until recently, no one seemed to know it was there.

"That's disturbing -- very disturbing news," said Diamond Phifer, a parent.

ABC 7/NewsChannel 8 grabbed an armful of children's books from public libraries in Maryland, Virginia and D.C. The covers of nearly 30 books were checked using a home lead testing kit.

If the stick turned pink there likely was lead. Two books from the D.C. Central Library came back positive.

Because the sticks are not always 100 percent accurate, the books were taken to Schneider Labs in Richmond for further explanation.

"We can identify that lead is actually in the covers of the books," said Julie Litz of Schneider Laboratories.

Beginning in August, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act prohibits products intended for children 12 and under containing more than 300 parts per million of lead.

That drops to 100 parts per million in 2011 -- but sources say even that can be dangerous. "Lead has been shown even at the lowest level we can test to cause harm, to cause significant long lasting harm," said Dr. Dana Best, a lead expert at Children's National Medical Center.

» see the test results, part 1

» see the test results, part 2

» more on books and lead

The lab determined the cover of one book had 1,793 parts per million, nearly 18 times the 2011 maximum and more than enough to be considered toxic.

The other book barely complies with the 2011 standards, having 86 parts per million on the cover.

"As a parent I wouldn't even know how to verify that a book is lead free," said Altamit Lewis, a parent.

Best says while these books are meant for older kids, parents have to watch youngsters so they don't ingest the book's lead.

"Your little kid, your sibling or somebody of the toddler age who puts everything in their mouth is who gets the hurt the worst, and absorbs the most lead," said Best.

And it's not just D.C. Two books tested from Seattle's public library came back with toxic amounts of lead, as did a book tested last month by a lab in Illinois.

"It's very important where there are lead exposures we protect children," said Emily Sheketoff of the American Library Association. "We just do not believe that lead exposure is in ordinary books.

When shown the toxic books from D.C.. Sheketoff said, "I need to tell my members so if any of them have copies of this they can remove it."

Sheketoff says there is no way to determine how many books like the toxic ones ABC 7/NewsChannel 8 found are in the library system. 

We should probably mention that all books returned to the libraries were thoroughly cleaned after testing.

The two books we found containing lead were “Some Merry Adventures of Robin Hood” which had 1793 parts per million of lead found in the cover, and “The Gallant Five” which had 86 parts per million of lead in the cover.

Only trace amounts of the lead transferred to a wipe when the lab did what’s called a wipe test. “Small amounts of lead very low levels of lead were released onto the wipe after we wiped the book," said Schneider Laboratory’s Quality Assurance Manager, Julie Litz. "The amounts released were well below the EPA ‘hazard’ levels for floors and interior window sills. This indicates the lead is found “in the covers of both books.”

Dr. Dana Best says the danger then is if a child were to chew on or eat part of the cover of the book. “You certainly shouldn't eat it," she warned. "You certainly shouldn't chew on it.” 

The D.C. Public Library, where we found the two tainted books, declined requests for an on camera interview, but Spokesman George Williams provided the following statement:

“The safety of children who use the DC Public Library is of utmost importance to us. The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s regulations on lead in children’s books continues to leave a lot of unanswered questions for libraries as to what steps libraries should take to protect children. For example, we don’t know the impact on a child who touches a book, puts her mouth on a book or chews on the pages. The American Library Association has asked the Commission for guidance on this issue. We, like many libraries across the country, are awaiting their response.”

George A. Williams
Public Information Officer
D.C. Public Library

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