LOS ANGELES -- Federal regulators expanded their efforts Thursday to go after children's jewelry that contains high levels of the toxic metal cadmium by telling parents to throw away "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"-themed charm bracelets.
The warning from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission came after agency scientists found that the jewelry released alarmingly high levels of cadmium in lab tests, potentially exposing children to a carcinogen that also can damage kidneys and bones.
The action represents the second cadmium-related recall the government has carried out since an Associated Press investigation earlier this year found that some children's jewelry was made almost entirely with the heavy metal. About 55,000 "The Princess and The Frog" pendants sold at Wal-Mart stores were recalled in the weeks after the AP published its initial findings.
Now the government is targeting "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" chain-link bracelets sold at dollar-type stores between 2006 and March 2009. The charms feature characters from the classic Christmas movie, including Rudolph and the abominable snowman.
As part of their investigation, safety commission scientists bathed the snowman in a liquid that simulates stomach acid to assess how much cadmium a child who swallowed it could be exposed to.
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