Most Toxic Toys

One of every three toys tested in a study of 1,500 popular children's toys contained potentially harmful levels of lead, arsenic, mercury and other dangerous chemicals, according to findings released earlier this month by the Ecology Center, an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based consumer safety organization.

See More Very Toxic Toys

On Feb. 10, 2009, a new federal law — the Consumer Product Safety Modernization Act — will set new limits on the amount of arsenic, cadmium, mercury, lead and other potentially unsafe chemicals allowed in children's products. The new legal limit for cadmium in children's products will be 75 parts per million, arsenic will be 25 ppm, mercury will be 60 ppm and lead will be 600 ppm. Based on these limits and related safety standards limiting bromine levels to 1000 ppm, the Ecology Center generated its list of the year's "worst toys," which includes, but doesn't rank, the toys with highest levels of lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury or bromide. Here are a few of the year's worst toys in each category.

Hannah Montana's "2 Hearts and HM graphic Necklace"
Manufacturer: Disney (F&A Inc.)

Lead PPM: 406,510

Last year, the Hannah Montana doll, based on the Emmy-nominated 'tween series about a teenage girl (played by Billy Ray Cyrus' daughter Miley Cyrus), rivaled Barbie and the Bratz as the doll-of-choice for young girls. Don't count on the "2 Hearts and HM graphic Necklace" following in its footsteps. The necklace led the pack on the "worst toys" list of those most contaminated by lead, with a whopping 406,510 ppm of lead.

Just My Style "It's So Charming" Jewelry Charm Bracelets
Manufacturer: Just My Style Jewelry

Lead PPM: 9,254

Children's jewelry is five times more likely to contain lead above 600 ppm than other products. This bracelet is one reason why.

High School Musical Crown Necklace
Manufacturer: Disney (F.A.F., Inc.)

Lead PPM: 7,963

Research has linked exposure to lead with learning and developmental problems including decreased IQ scores, shorter attention spans and delayed learning.

Road Racers With Play Mat
Manufacturer: Wholesale Merchandisers, Inc.

Bromine PPM: 30,831

Kids and toy racing cars are like two peas in a pod. But these cars, which contain over 30 times more bromine than considered safe, may be more dangerous for children to race than parents realize.

Totally Me! Dressy Rainbow Jewelry
Manufacturer: Geoffrey, Inc

Cadmium PPM: 3,269
Arsenic PPM: 1,202

This collection of beads, bracelets and assorted trinkets is one of the few children's toys that contains high levels of more than one chemical contaminant: both cadmium and arsenic. To make matters worse, the jewelery package ranked among the worst offenders in both categories.

Eight Mini Twist-Up Crayons
Manufacturer: Alex Panline USA, Inc.

Mercury PPM: 783

Crayons may stoke the creative spirit, but mercury probably doesn't. Exposure to mercury has been linked to a variety of neurological problems.

Bath Letters & Numbers
Manufacturer: The Little Tikes Co.

Mercury PPM: 463

These bubble letters and numbers may do more to a kid than teach how to spell and count. The product contains high levels of mercury, which has been linked to kidney damage and is toxic to the nervous system.

See More Very Toxic Toys

Explore the MasterCard® Overjoy of Giving Sweepstakes, share gift lists & more!