Stores, libraries still figuring how to comply
Pictures and old albums have replaced children's toys on Rescue Mission shelves because of lead regulations.
/ photo by Action News photographer Alex Dunbar
SYRACUSE --
The new regulations to reduce children's exposure to lead are in effect, but how they should be implemented is still causing confusion. At the Rescue Mission's 13 area Thrifty Shopper stores staffers spent the weekend pulling toys, children's jewelry and bikes off of the shelves. Spokesman Paul LaDolce says children's clothing will stay on sale, however, "until we are prohibited from doing so," because of the store's mission to offer less expensive alternatives. "This is where they're coming to stretch their budgets," says LaDolce.
The toys may not be for sale, but the Rescue Mission is still asking that they be donated. The toys will be stored until the Consumer Product Safety Commission clarifies its policies. If the toys cannot be sold, they can at least be sold for salvage, which would give the Mission some revenue to help fund programs.
Other businesses are still coming to terms with the new regulation. Action News checked several used book stores, which told us they did not realize the new rules apply to them. The regulation says pre-1985 books are most suspect, and several librarians have told us that most of their children's collections don't have books that old because they just don't hold up. However, Onondaga County Libraries have referred the question of how to comply to the County Attorney for clarification.
