We have expanded services to include certified home and property lead inspections, risk assessments, HUD inspections and Renovation, Repair & Painting (RRP) Inspections.

We have provided services to toy wholesalers, retailers and manufacturers.  We have done testing for county health departments, state and federal agencies.  We have helped real estate professionals sell homes, and assisted remodelers, home inspectors and other housing professionals.  We work with families of autistic children and can help anyone or any business know what is in their environment.

Recently, I was out performing an in-home inspection and found lead in wall paper.  This was a new experience for me and after further testing, I was able to identify that the back side of the wall paper was made of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC).  The lead and other heavy metals found when testing the wall paper was most likely from the PVC and the back side of the wallpaper not the painted surface.

Contractors, remodelers and homeowners should be aware that there is a potential for lead to exist in wallpaper.  Older homes that contain wallpaper with a PVC or film backing should be aware that lead and other heavy metals may be present.  Creating dusts from this substrate could be potentially harmful. 

In addition, contractors should be aware that tile may contain harmful levels of certain heavy metals including lead.  If you are doing remodeling, renovation or painting that disturbs a painted surface or tile, use caution and be aware that the dust you create could be potentially harmful to you, your workers and the people or children in the home.

Other interesting finds and subjects of upcoming or past blogs include lead and other heavy metals found in:

Bounce Homes
Protein Drinks
Field Turf
Bumbo Seats
Facial Creams and other personal care items

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FACT:  Are you aware that Essco Safety Check is certified to provide lead-based paint inspections.  Certified lead professionals will come to your location (in Washington State) and using X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Analyzers will inspect for lead-based paint.

FACT:  The services Essco Safety Check provide contractors and homeowners, will save you time & money when complying with the new RRP ruling and lead-based paint inspections.  Consider the fact that documents must be retained for three years following the completion of a renovation; we will store all your testing data for free.

FACT:  Currently, EPA approved LeadCheck Kits can determine that regulated lead-based paint is not present on all surfaces except plaster and drywall. 

QUESTION:  What is a contractor suppose to do to determine if lead-based paint is present?

FACT:  Homeowners, apartment owners, government-assisted or public housing, schools and childcare facilities that are older than 1978 that have a contractor disturb a painted surface do to renovation, repair or painting must have the contractor:
 A.  Assume the property contains lead-based paint and follow lead-safe work practices, or
 B.  You or your contractor may also test for lead using a lead test kit.  These kits must be EPA-approved (please refer to above FACT about LeadCheck Kits), or
 C.  Hire a certified professional to check for lead-based paint.  These professionals are certified risk assessors or inspectors and can determine if your home has lead or lead hazards.

FACT:  If you are going to have your property inspected for lead-based paint or lead hazards, Essco Safety Check can:
 
• Save you time & money with hassle-free lead inspection services
• Provide non-destructive XRF testing by a certified lead inspector or risk assessor
• Assist with your data storage and EPA testing compliance issues

QUESTION:  How do I contact Essco Safety Check about my RRP lead testing needs?

FACT:  Visit http://www.essco-safetycheck.com/services/re.htm for more information or call Seth at 425-749-4136.

FACT:  Essco Safety Check is offering a 20% discount off current prices for companies who call and book an RRP inspection by November 1st, 2010.   Good for first inspection for new customers only.

Environmental Services & Solutions Corporation
d.b.a. Essco Safety Check
15906 NE 83rd Street
Redmond, WA 98052
www.essco-safetycheck.com

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This report found that four childhood environmental disorders (lead poisoning, asthma, pediatric cancer and neurodevelopmental disorders) cost Michigan on average $5.85 billion per year.  That is just the cost for these disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders include; cognitive impairment, autism and cerebral palsy. 

These costs include both direct and indirect costs; direct costs include things such as prescriptions and hospitalizations, indirect costs include such things as parental wages lost due to their children’s missed school days and loss of lifetime earnings.  The methodology used to develop these estimates was originally published by Landrigan et al. (2002).

The overall annual cost estimate for Michigan is $5.8 billion, with a range of $3.65 to $6.68 billion.

These cost estimates represent approximately 1.5% of Michigan’s Gross domestic Product every year.

If people and businesses can learn what is in their environment, they can mitigate harm.  If you can reduce the amount of exposure you have to a particular environmental toxicant, not only can you improve your quality of life, it could be potentially economically advantageous.  

Safety V. Money

I can only speak about lead poisoning and autism, as those areas I have been greatly involved in.  Essco Safety Check has been providing non-destructive environmental testing for potential harmful toxicants such as lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury and other heavy metals by utilizing X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Analyzers and software to collect and analyze the environment around us.  Autistic families contact us because they claim their children have a variety of heavy metals in their blood and we can quickly identify a variety of heavy metals non-destructively, quickly, efficiently and accurately.  We specialize in helping people and businesses know what is in their environment.

A study that I wrote earlier this year, The potential economic impact of the CPSIA, was submitted US House of Representative, House Energy Commerce Sub-Committee for Consumer Protection by the Handmade Toy Alliance as “Allowing XRF testing for CPSIA compliance could save $3.7 billion and save small businesses”  This study looked at new federal regulation, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) and how businesses are affected by the regulations and how XRF technology can help them reduce costs in testing, getting products to market faster and creating jobs.

If we can now combine these two visions of protecting children and saving small businesses, we are not only doing the ethical thing, were are going to be creating jobs, improving lives, while protecting children, creating jobs and saving people, businesses and government billions of dollars.

Essco Safety Check is proud to be a leader in XRF testing services and environmental software solutions as well as, equally proud to help protect children, homeowners, businesses and government.

Know what is in your environment and mitigate harm.

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Essco Safety Check provided free X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) testing to anyone that wished to have their toys, ceramics, jewelry and other consumer products non-destructively tested for heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury.  Of the estimated 10,000 people that attended Redmond Derby Day, several hundred visited Essco Safety Check’s booth.

Working the booth

In addition to just providing free XRF testing, Essco Safety Check provided a display of consumer products, that we have found over several years of providing testing, that have potentially harmful elements (lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury) in them.  As well as, discussing these items, we provided insight into the “individual, the item and the relationship”; the relationship between people and their environment, and how knowledge of your environment can mitigate harm. 

Toxic Toys

Essco Safety Check also displayed and handed out brochures and publications from the EPA, Washington State Department of Ecology, Washington State Department of Health and King County Hazardous Waste Management.  We also spoke to several small business owners who are impacted by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) and homeowners affected by EPAs Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule. 

Overall, we provided free testing to many local residents and those that did not bring items to be tested but were still interested in having something tested, we provided a coupon for free testing at our offices.  Of the items we did test for people, we found lead in jewelry warn by children, plates, coffee cups and other ceramics, in musical instruments, several toys and other consumer products.  Several of these items were also found to contain cadmium.  The highest amount of lead found was over 400,000 parts per million in some jewelry warn by a child.

Essco Safety Check is proud to provide free testing at community events.  If you missed us yesterday and would like to have something tested for free, please join us Saturday, August 7th, 2010 at Washington Autism Day located a Jubilee Farm, in Carnation, WA from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM

If you have a yellow bumbo seat, we are still offering free testing at our offices, please contact us at info@essco-safetycheck.com and in the subject line, please write “Yellow Bumbo”
 
Know what is in your environment and mitigate harm.

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Community Testing

Join us at Redmond Derby Days / IMPACT-Eco event this Saturday, July 10th, 2010 from 10:00AM to 6:00PM for FREE Consumer Product Testing.  Essco Safety Check will be providing FREE X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Testing for heavy metals; lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, antimony and more. 

Bring your toys, ceramics, jewelry, favorite coffee cup, baby products, paint chip samples, yellow bumbo seats or anything you would like to have tested for heavy metals.   All testing is non-destructive and takes a few seconds to perform.

Please visit our booth this Saturday, July 10th, 2010 from 10:00 AM to 6:00PM for FREE Consumer Product Testing, to ask us any questions about heavy metals in your environment, to pickup special offers or simply learn more about Essco Safety Check.

The Eco-Fair will feature:

Stay late for a fireworks spectacle at Redmond City Hall Campus at 10:00 PM

For more information about Redmond Derby Days and IMPACT / Eco-Fair, please visit

We look forward to seeing you this Saturday.

If you are unable to stop by this Saturday we will be participating in another community event in August at WA Autism Day at the Jubilee Farm in Carnation on August 7th from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM and providing free testing for all participants.

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The Eco-Fair will feature:

Stay late for a fireworks spectacle at Redmond City Hall Campus at 10:00 PM

If you would like to have any consumer products tested for heavy metals (lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury, antimony or other heavy metals) please visit our booth between 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM on Saturday, July 10th, 2010. Bring you toys, ceramics, jewelry, paint chip samples, yellow bumbo seats or anything you would like tested, we will be on hand to provide free testing and answer any questions you may have.

All testing is non-destructive and takes a few seconds to perform. For more information about Redmond Derby Days and Impact Eco-Fair, please visit or for more information at Essco Safety Check please visit.

We look forward to seeing you this Saturday.

If you are unable to stop by this Saturday we will be participating in another community event in August at WA Autism Day at the Jubilee Farm in Carnation on August 7th from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM and providing free testing for all participants.

Know what is in your environment!

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These bracelets were recalled because they contain cadmium.  The CPSC did not specify how much cadmium was found in these bracelets.  There were approximately 19,000 units sold exclusively sold at Claire’s stores nationwide from February 2009 to January 2010 for about $12.  They were manufactured by Dae Yeon Industries Corporation of China.

Consumers are warned to immediately take these bracelets away from children and return the heart lock charms or the entire bracelet to any Claire’s for a full refund or replacement product.  Contact Claire’s toll-free at (866) 859-9281 between 9am and 5pm ET Monday through Friday or visit www.claires.com

This recall is a continuing effect of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) and an investigation that began back in 2009 with the Associated Press (AP) and data that was supplied to the AP by Essco Safety Check.  In October of 2009, Essco Safety Check presented data on consumer products and how much lead and cadmium were found in toys, ceramics, jewelry and other consumer products at the Northwest Children’s Environmental Health Forum.  This data had been collected with our proprietary software suite (to collect and analyze data) and by using X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Analyzers to test consumer products for moms and dads in their homes, as well as, for businesses selling children’s products.

Over several months of data analysis and sharing, the Associated Press began their own investigations which lead to the first recall for cadmium found in children’s jewelry in January 2010.  Cadmium is a known toxicant and carcinogen; it can be very harmful to children.  This recall is the third that has been prompted by the AP’s reporting, and Essco Safety Check’s initial data.  No recall had ever been issued for cadmium in consumer products prior to this year.

Claire’s and other retailers have begun to add testing procedures to ensure that their suppliers are testing for cadmium.  There are no total content standards set for cadmium in the CPSIA for children’s jewelry, unlike lead which has a limit of 300 parts per million (ppm).  In testing done by the Associated Press, their tests showed the bracelets from Claire’s contained up to 91% (910,000 ppm) of cadmium.

Several states have begun to take action including California, Connecticut, Illinois and Washington (Washington State is not currently enforcing their regulation; the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) has been superseded by the federal regulation do to interstate commerce).  The CPSC has also begun to screen imports of jewelry at the 10 largest ports in the United States by using X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Analyzers to look for heavy metals including cadmium. 

Unfortunately, I’m fairly certain that this will not be the last recall we hear about cadmium or children’s products.  It can make one wonder why do we even permit lead, cadmium and other harmful elements or chemicals in products we use regularly, specifically products for children and pregnant women.  If you are concerned about any consumer products and would like them tested, Essco Safety Check will be participating in several different community events this summer.  Checkout our website for details.

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This was before recalls and regulations and since then the landscape has changed.  There are now state and federal regulations regarding lead and other toxicants in children’s products (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act – CPSIA).  These regulations were passed with the emphasis on finding toxic toys at a time when several large national recalls were happening. 

Over the past several years of providing in-home inspections for consumers, assisting autistic families with knowledge about their environment and providing testing services to businesses about the products they manufacture or sell, we have become experts in understanding the relationship between consumer products, the end-user and the regulations of those products.  This knowledge base and relationships we have developed with toxicologists, lawmakers, consumers and businesses has given us a unique perspective of the entire marketplace and market cycle.

With the knowledge that we have gained, we’ve become aware that not all products that you and I believe are consumer products are in fact, consumer products.  Certain products are exempt from heavy metal testing, because these products are considered medical devices.  Both children and adults use these products and they are sold everywhere without restrictions.  Some of these products are even put directly into the mouth, why are these products exempt from certain regulations?

Understanding the relationship between a product someone uses and what that product is made of, can easily mitigate harm.  Just because a product is not considered a children’s product does not mean that a child will not use that product.  There are some good uses for lead, but not in a toy or a coffee cup or a toothbrush. 

What about pregnant women?  In a discussion I had with Steve Gilbert (he is an expert in the field of toxicology, PhD, DABT) he has shared his knowledge with me and I’m here to share it with you.

Did you know that a child and a pregnant woman absorb 30-50% of the lead they ingest.  A typical adult only absorbs about 10%.  This is because lead substitutes for calcium and the growing body needs more calcium.  This is one of the reasons that kids are more sensitive to lead exposure. Pregnant women use all different types of consumer products, including medical devices.  Do you think that they should be exposed to lead and other potentially harmful metals during pregnancy?

Know what is in your environment and mitigate harm.

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Witnesses included:

•Rosario Palmieri, Vice President for Infrastructure, Legal, and Regulatory Policy, National Association of Manufacturers
•Paul Vitrano, General Counsel, Motorcycle Industry Council
•Jim Gibbons, President and Chief Executive Officer, Goodwill Industries International
•Dan Marshall, Handmade Toy Alliance
•Rachel Weintraub, Director of Product Safety and Senior Counsel, Consumer Federation of America
•Steve Levy, American Apparel and Footwear Association
•Rick Woldenberg, Chairman, Learning Resources, Inc.

The CPSEA is a bill that would provide exceptions to lead and phthalate prohibitions and regulatory relief for thrift stores, small manufacturers, and other businesses.  

The legislation seeks to resolve some of the concerns raised by various interested parties by addressing unforeseen impacts of CPSIA. To this end, the legislation provides three major forms of relief:

• New regulatory flexibility for CPSC to exempt certain products, components, and materials from the lead limits in CPSIA, with limitations to ensure protection of public health;

• Relief for thrift stores and other retailers through an exclusion for certain used children’s products from the lead limits, and a modification of the lead limit, set to take effect in August 2011, so that it will apply only to newly manufactured products;

• Relief for small batch manufacturers and other businesses by allowing the commission to approve alternative testing requirements for certain small batch manufacturers, by requiring CPSC outreach and assistance to small businesses, and by providing that the law’s phthalate limits shall not apply to inaccessible component parts.

The legislation also provides for a narrow set of improved and clarified authorities to allow the CPSC to carry out the law.

You can read the Committee Print of the CPSEA here.

You can review the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection hearing of the CPSEA held on Thursday, April 29th, 2010 here. 

Witnesses answered questions for almost two-hours, including testimony from Dan Marshall.  Dan spoke eloquently about the needed use of alternative testing methods, specifically X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzers.  Dan also submitted an economic impact analysis that I (Seth Goldberg, President, Essco Safety Check) wrote back on January 22, 2010 entitled “the potential economic impact of the CPSIA” and the Handmade Toy Alliance (HTA) reposted this blog on February 11, 2010 “Allowing XRF testing for CPSIA compliance could save $3.7 Billion and save small businesses.”

If anyone has any question about this analysis that I wrote, please feel free to ask me questions.

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In October 2009, Essco Safety Check participated in the Northwest Children’s Environmental Health Forum by presenting data on heavy metals found in children’s products.  This data was analyzed for specific elements (cadmium and lead) and then the results were shared with Associated Press reporter Justin Pritchard over November and December of 2009.  Here is a link to our typical findings from an in-home inspection.

On January 10th, 2010, Justin Pritchard wrote an article “AP: Feds probe cadmium in kids’ jewelry from China.”  Apparently, the Associated Press conducted their own independent testing (based on initial data supplied from Essco Safety Check and HealthyStuff.org) of children’s jewelry purchased in New York, Ohio, Texas and California.  Their testing was conducted by chemistry professor Jeff Weidenhamer of Ashland University of Ohio, who has worked with the CPSC in the past. The results found cadmium in children’s jewelry at a level of 100,000 PPM (10%) or greater in 12 percent of the 103 items tested. 

Children's jewelry recalled for cadmium 1/29/10

On January 29th, 2010, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a voluntary recall of children’s metal necklaces because of high levels of cadmium.  In corporation with F.A.F. of Greenville, R.I. about 55,000 units were recalled. The products recalled are shaped as a frog pendant or metal crown on a metal chain necklace.  The model #’s are 4616-4187 & 4616-4190 with UPC #’s 72783367144 & 72783367147.  These items were sold exclusively at Wal-Mart Stores nationwide from November 2009 to January 2010 for approximately $5.
Yesterday, April 26th, 2010 Wal-Mart issued a statement on cadmium and new testing standards that all Wal-Mart suppliers will have to comply with.  These standards are more stringent than the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), and all toys, child care articles, children’s costume jewelry and children’s jewelry craft making kits tested on or after April 9th, 2010 are now required to meet Wal-Mart’s new voluntary standards.

The new testing standards will be modeled similarly to the European Union, EN 71-3:1995 “Safety of toys – Part 3: Migration of Certain Elements” but will not affect what is currently on the store shelves.

In short, this means that the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart, is now imposing new testing standards to help protect consumers from cadmium; this is a very good thing.  These new standards are taking affect immediately and will help prevent toxic toys, jewelry and other children’s products from reaching the marketplace.  There is a feeling of “wow and awe” that a small environmental testing company (Essco Safety Check) who shared data about children’s products and the heavy metals we found in them, can impact the largest retailer in the world.  The data shared lead to an investigation by the Associated Press and now, today, Wal-Mart has issued new testing standards that all suppliers must meet.

Do you know what is in your environment?  Know what is in your environment and mitigate harm.

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