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About one in three children?s toys contain some level of harmful chemical substances like lead, and children?s jewelry continues to show the highest contamination levels, according to researchers with the Ecology Center, a nonprofit environmental organization based in Michigan.

In its second annual study, the Ecology Center tested more than 1,500 popular children?s toys for harmful substances like lead, cadmium, mercury, and arsenic. Among the findings, according to a Press Release from the Ecology Center: ?one-third of the toys tested had "high" or "medium" levels of chemicals of concern this year. Lead was found in 20 percent of the toys tested, including 54 products (3.5 percent) that exceeded the 600 parts per million (ppm) state legal limit set last year and 164 (10.7 percent) above the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended ceiling of 40 ppm.? According to the study, children?s jewelry was five times as likely to contain harmful levels of lead, compared with other types of children?s toys and accessories. The Ecology Center has also ranked its Best Toys and Worst Toys for this holiday season.

• Press Release on Chemicals in Children?s Toys (Ecology Center)
• Ecology Center Toy Safety Rankings: Best Toys | Worst Toys
• CNNMoney.com: One in Three Toys is Toxic, Group Says
• ABC News: Toxic Toys - One in Three Questioned by Consumer Group
• NPR: Toxins Found in One-Third of Toys Tested
• HealthyToys.org (from the Ecology Center)
• Holiday Toy Safety Shopping Tips (FindLaw?s Common Law Blog)
• Toy Safety Publications (CPSC)
• Lead Paint in Toys - Recall Information (FindLaw)
• Lead Poisoning and the Law (FindLaw)
• Defective and Dangerous Products (FindLaw)