Purses With Lead Sold at Popular Retailers, Consumer Group Finds

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   Stacie Lposted 11 years ago

   A groundbreaking new investigation by a consumer watchdog group is raising the question: Is there a hidden danger in purses, an accessory that millions of Americans never leave home without?
   
   The Center for Environmental Health found lead in handbags sold at one out of four retail stores it visited.
   
   The consumer group said that it discovered lead in the sides of 43 of the 300 purses it tested in a lab, even though hundreds of handbag manufacturers signed a court settlement to limit the lead in their products.
   
   http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/pu … tment.html
   Those purses made with vinyl and plastic were tested highest for lead   

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      Attikosposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I knew there had to be a reason those things pack such a wallop when women swing them.

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   Hugh Williamsonposted 11 years ago

   There is also a recall by Samsonite on luggage with toxic handles (a chemical, not lead).
   
   Given the number of contamination incidents with Chinese imports, shouldn't we be doing a better job of testing the goods we buy from them?
   
   http://www.chron.com/news/article/Samso … 643269.php

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      recommend1posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      The specifications for everything from the shape of the thing to the contents of the materials and the coatings are dictated by the importing buyer - not by the manufacturer, whether they are in China or Europe.  Stop blaming everyone else.

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         Hugh Williamsonposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         So the purses were ordered with lead in them.
         
         Must be the new recycled car battery line.

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            recommend1posted 11 years agoin reply to this

            I know this is really hard for you to grasp and all - lead occurs as an ingredient in many things like plastics and metallic coverings and this is available all over the world - whoever buys and imports anything from China gets the specifications for every part of the item, often they will dictate what is to be used and made. 
            
            If some greedy fat-assed American importer specifies the (usually cheaper) lead content product then that is what is supplied.   So yes - that is what your good 'ol American boys ordered to sell to you good 'ol american boys to give to your misus and kids.  The actual danger of the lead content mostly manifests itself in making children stupid, I guess you should go check out those good 'ol 'all American' lead soldiers you played wtih huh ?????

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               Hugh Williamsonposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               You're right about one thing, US import inspections are lax and greedy importers are allowed too much leeway. Only 5% of import containers are checked.
               
               I don't trust and do not buy anything imported from China and until the corrupt and self serving communist gov't is overthrown, that's how it will stay. Too many Americans look only for cheap prices and end up with shoddy contaminated imported goods as a result.
               
               I hope some of them are reading this.
               
               How about some shrimp grown in sewage...
               
               http://voices.yahoo.com/chinas-shrimp-m … 25902.html
               
               ...or some honey contaminated with chloramphenicol, illegally dumped on the US market.
               
               http://www.locateadoc.com/articles/cont … -1134.html
               
               The list goes on and on. Oh, and by the way, China doesn't reimburse for contaminated products -- you just send more. I'll wager that nothing will change until your US and European export market goes bye-bye. And it should.
               
               Bottom Line: "If its from the People's Republic, keep it."

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                  recommend1posted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  Your sources sum it up about right - US trade protectionism at its finest 
                  
                  Don't you even read the twaddle you quote ?  Quoting random posts from some random person are not convincing   However at the time of these supposed events the US was illegally piling on any trade tax it could dream up - most of these engineered trade taxes have been stopped since China bailed you out by buying a huge chunk of your debt.
                  
                  I find it hard to believe that you really don't get such simple things,  Nobody can export to the US without somebody in the US importing it  -  You get what you order.  And your childish comments show a naivety beyond belief, many of the biggest exporters from China are American owned, controlled or set up, and everything you own will be around 30% (or more) made in China and your good ' ol American businesses don't even tell you any more !  All the big brands are made in China, from your designer sunglasses to safety equipment to parts for your weapons and military clothing

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                     Hugh Williamsonposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     The subject of this hub is contaminated imports from China.
                     
                     People in the US are waking up to the fact that these contaminated imports that can harm them. Your export market is in our hands, not yours, so it is to your advantage to stop trying to justify your exploitation of your customers with the ludicrous contention that we want contaminated crap and that we specify that in our orders.
                     
                     I suspect that when the commies are dethroned, this problem will take care of itself.

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                        recommend1posted 11 years agoin reply to this

                        Yes, I know it is a little complicated for you, what with so many long words like trade protectionism, sinking dollar, order specifications, etc., etc. 

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                           SomewayOuttaHereposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                           ummm...are you a married british expat living  in China?....
                           
                           hey R1!

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                           Hugh Williamsonposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                           It's not really all that complicated.
                           
                           The OP deals with lead contaminated handbags. Lead is used for pliability and color in some PVC products but never should be used in anything to be in human contact. These handbags were up to 300X allowable lead limits.
                           
                           Wealthy Chinese are traveling to the US to have their babies in order to establish US citizenship. Some of the reasons are to escape the corrupt government, forced abortions, social unrest, environmental disasters and, oh yes, contaminated food, clothing and air.
                           
                           Solving these problems should be easy for a self-proclaimed genius.
                           
                           Good luck with that.

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                              recommend1posted 11 years agoin reply to this

                              Obviously it is a litle too complicated for you.  You are so blind that you can't see that US buyers import the stuff and sell it to you - but I guess that makes you all pretty stupid.
                              
                              You bring up a second point, unrelated of course as you can't seem to concentrate on one thing at a time but like to air all your misconceptions and outright prejudices in order to make you look more foolish than you have already managed.  There is a problem of Chinese illegally making small fortunes and then running to the States with their ill gotten spoils -  and of course they are welcomed by such like-minded people.  And you have no idea of any kind why normal wealthy Chinese apply (buy) American citizenship,  if you actually had any interest rather than just spewing anti-asian rubbish I would take the time to explain that to you.

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                                 Hugh Williamsonposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                                 You really should try to get news from some place other than official China media (if that's even possible). It might be informative.
                                 
                                 When you go to the China People's Daily website and search for anything may be unflattering to the glorious republic, you usually get "No Matches Found." Try it with "Lead Contaminated Handbags."
                                 
                                 Also...you didn't wish me a happy fourth of July.
                                 
                                 http://search.people.com.cn/rmw/GB/fore … search.jsp

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                                    recommend1posted 11 years agoin reply to this

                                    I don't 'get my news' from anywhere much except from my own work.  As I am an auditor and consultant for Social Compliance in China I see it all first hand.  Trying to ensure that child labour, forced labour etc becomes a thing of the past, eventually, we also look at the unfair practices of the buyers, unrealistic order times, the specifications demanded etc in the interests of the safety of the workers handling it.
                                    
                                    I think on this issue I can claim to be expert, I am paid in US dollars as an expert.
                                    
                                    I understand the anti attitude of many people because that is what western media shit out uncontrollably day after day, but a look beneath the skin reveals that it is all about trade controls, blacking others to make your own look better, dollar protectionism, and basic over-profiteering by the buyers and intermediaries.  The problem that you point out with Chinese news is correct and that is another discussion point - the problem with your news sources is that they blatantely lie and more importantly they just do not tell you theother half of any story so you think you know and hav an opinion when in fact you are spoon fed your opinions through manipulation of the media.

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                                       Hugh Williamsonposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                                       "I understand the anti attitude of many people because that is what western media s**t out uncontrollably day after day..."
                                       
                                       
                                       You do realize that the freedom of the press is constitutionally guaranteed in the United States, yes? We can get the conservative slant (Fox) or liberal (Huff. Post) and all stripes in between. However, only listening to news sources that one agrees with doesn't make you informed, just biased.
                                       
                                       As per above, I check with the China People's Daily now and then; I find that Al-Jazeera usually has mideast news before others, and there's Reuters, etc. etc. -- I'm free to read any of them.
                                       
                                       Living in a free country is nice.

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                                          recommend1posted 11 years agoin reply to this

                                          Yep - the puppet usually loves the puppet master, your idea of freedom comes from your manipulator of choice, and among the information you get is some truth, ususally submerged in a sea of untruth that you clearly cannot differentiate.
                                          Freedom is what you experience not what you believe, I am sitting here in China with the political bureau watching what I do and you sit there with your homeland security watching what you do, I see videos of your police beating people, sometimes to death, here I see blog videos of the same, you have a policeman with a gun cruising every street and standing around in every city and shopping mall, here we never see a policeman unless one is called, which is almost never.  Go figure.

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   Express10posted 11 years ago

   This information does not surprise me. The thing is that this type of problem exists at ALL price points and there is no way short of being a scientist or willing to shell out for one, to see if your purses are safe or not. Of course, you'd have to spend the money to buy the bag at your own risk before you do all that anyway.
   
   This is just another way that manufacturers have been getting over on the customer. I doubt this behavior will end anytime soon as there is no outcry from the majority of consumers simply because they are in the dark.

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   Steel Engineerposted 11 years ago

   Several years ago, I listened to a Christian prophet, Daniel Rodes, from Virginia.
   
   He warned that the HOly Spirit showed him the Chinese would begin poisoning food sent to America. When discovered, they would begin to poison things which are not tested like food is tested. "Like the handles of hammers" Rodes said the Holy Spirit told him.
   
   Things the chinese have poisoned: meat sent to military PXs, Christian jewelry, children's toys, and milk for babies.
   
   The milk that was reported killing babies because of the kidney stones it caused was reported in the MSM as being isolated to China. This is not true. Wal Mart was illegally importing milk from China.

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   tsmogposted 11 years ago

   This is interesting. I heard a rumor they did that to keep purse snatchers from being able to use their x-ray vision to see what was inside. Seems, a bunch of them bad boys busted from prison on Krypton and set up shop in major cities around the world. They almost had completed the treatment limiting their super powers before being exiled on planet earth.
   
   One weekend they were gathered together singing the blues in A Cappella, around a trash can set on fire to keep warm. Then one of them said, "Hey I can see in your pocket. You have a buck twenty-five. Two half dollars and a quarter." Well it wasn't long until they all realized a business venture could be started knowing they had one super power remaining.
   
   The Riddler jumped onto this and next thing you knew Batman was awoken.
   
   Just kidding, a little spontaneity tossed in to liven things up a tad - smile

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      Steel Engineerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      hahahaha. Creative & funny!

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   Hugh Williamsonposted 11 years ago

   Communist China now spends more on its "internal security" than it does on the army. If you never see a cop, somebody's ripping you off.
   
   http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/ … 0920110305
   
   To say that China is a free country is quite a stretch.
   
   Lets see...
   
   We have Free Press, and internet, you don't
   You have forced population control, we don't.
   The right to live where you wish...Well, ask the 50% of your population living in rural areas who aren't allowed to move to urban areas.
   
   While you jackass around making excuses for them in the name of "Social Compliance in China" the government doesn't change except to spend more on internal security. Their sole aim is to stay in power at all costs and that's why you won't get freedom until the Chinese people boot the lot of them.

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      recommend1posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Were you one of that gang of Welsh guys that attacked a womans house in Cardiff, spray painting "paedo" all over the walls then pouring petrol through her letterbox and setting her house on fire ??
      
      You have a similar grasp of reality - she was a paediatrician.

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         Hugh Williamsonposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Were you one of the 800 baby traffickers arrested today for auctioning off babies?
         
         http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-0 … 7-800.html
         
         Let me guess, you can't access this story on your controlled internet therefor it never happened.

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            recommend1posted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Let me guess - you have no interest in debating any one point as your facile anti-everything asian blinds you to any reason or truth, so you run to any anti-asian news source - and you think it is telling you the truth
            
            I have tried to open your mind a little - but clearly you are beyond help.  You have no idea of the reality of the asian situation or of your own.  You blind yourself to the atrocities that the US carries out every day by sucking up the mixture of lies and half truths that you are spoon-fed about anyone else.  I guess that third world college education that you guys get is to blame huh !

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   Hugh Williamsonposted 11 years ago

   I give you sources and your only response is an angry diatribe about American education and some other miscellaneous accusations.
   
   You can't expect people to believe what you say just because you say it. Why should we? Lets have some references to back up these nuggets of wisdom.

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      recommend1posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Oh - you mean you want me to go look up all those headlines from your own popular papers and news channels that you choose to ignore - that regularly moan about your declining education standards, especially the religiously impaired institutions.  Or the stuff that is trumpeted everywhere about terrorism, that shows you plain as the nose on your face, your cowardly assassination drones killing whole families in their homes in countries you have not even declared war on ?  Even in an educationally subnormal nation you would think that you and others would be able to see that you are the worlds major terrorist.
      
      But diverting attention by pathetic lies and half truths and finger pointing at others is how your media and school system have shaped you so I guess I should be sorry for you really as people cannot help being either clever or stupid. However, I cannot abide deliberate ignorance that justifies racism, bigotry and division in the interests of immature self promotion.

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   Hugh Williamsonposted 11 years ago

   Heady stuff. Where are your references?
   
   When you commit acts of war, you get war. When the terrorists target is a commercial building and aircraft full of innocent people, don't be surprised if you get a cruise missile up your wazoo in return.
   
   As for education, you're the one who can't do math, remember?

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