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October 2, 2008

FREE Lead-Safe Work Practices Training - October 23

Filed under: In the News — Kara Eastman @ 12:24 pm

The UNL Extension and City of Omaha are offering a free 8 hour lead-safe work practices training on October 23 from 8am to 4pm. Registration is required at 444-7804.

September 23, 2008

Building Bright Futures includes screening for lead in its plan

Filed under: In the News — Kara Eastman @ 4:46 pm

Click here to view the Building Bright Futures Community Action Plan which includes screenings for lead poisoning (pages 36 and 37).

September 17, 2008

EPA Lead Dust Standards Inadequately Protect Children

Filed under: In the News — Kara Eastman @ 10:30 am

Click here to view press release,

August 25, 2008

Small doses of lead can cause big problems

Filed under: In the News — Kara Eastman @ 10:18 am

Parents warned to watch for lead in older houses

Download a PDF of this storyBy Beth Casper • Statesman Journal

August 22, 2008 (more…)

August 14, 2008

Read the Omaha City Weekly article about lead - Get the Lead Out

Filed under: In the News — Kara Eastman @ 3:16 pm

Click here

August 12, 2008

Oriental Trading steps up safety

Filed under: In the News — Kara Eastman @ 5:39 pm

BY JOHN KEENAN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

Safety first.

Oriental Trading Co., which last year recalled thousands of children’s necklaces because of high lead levels, said it has instituted safety standards that meet or exceed those established by Congress last month.

Sam Taylor, chief executive officer, said it was important for the Omaha-based company to take a leadership role on the issue so that it never again is put in such a position.

Various manufacturers recalled an array of Chinese-made toys in 2007, some among the most popular on the market, because of high levels of lead. Oriental Trading Co. recalled approximately 132,000 of the religious necklaces. No injuries were reported as a result of a necklace.

Congress overwhelmingly passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act at the end of July. It will ban lead beyond minute levels in products for children 12 or younger.

 

It will also ban, either permanently or pending further study, children’s goods containing six types of chemical, called phthalates, that are widely used to make plastic products softer and more flexible. The chemical industry insisted that phthalates have been used for decades and that there is no evidence they pose health risks to humans.

Taylor, who became CEO in May, said the new standards already in place at Oriental Trading matched or exceeded the federal standards that will be phased in after President Bush signs the bill.

“There is nothing more important to Oriental Trading Company than the safety of children, and the safety of the products that we are selling, and that’s why we’re taking the actions that we are taking,” he said.

Those steps:

• Instituting a new 90-parts-per million standard for lead on surface coating, which the new federal guidelines specify.

• Instituting a new substrate (underlying layer) standard of 400 parts per million. The federal guidelines call for 600 parts per million, according to Taylor, who said there was no previous substrate standard.

• Using Intertek Testing Services, an independent company with a testing lab in China, to test every shipment that goes out from Oriental Trading’s manufacturers.

• Instituting random tests at ports before the goods leave Asia.

Increased testing will not result in higher prices, Taylor said.

“We’re going to do the right thing to do the testing that we need,” he said. “In our mind, we don’t look at the cost of testing. We’re going to do that regardless, and we don’t see that as a driver of the increase if there’s any increase in price.

“There are other factors that are much larger,” he said, referring to fuel and petroleum-based products.

Taylor said Oriental Trading Co. took a leadership role in working with Congress to help fashion the new guidelines.

“In our mind, it wasn’t even a question of whether we were going to take a leadership role. We knew that we needed to, and that’s what we wanted to do, given the trust that our customers put into Oriental Trading.”

Material from the Associated Press was used in this story.

• Contact the writer: 444-1074, john.keenan@owh.com

June 1, 2008

Whole Foods in Omaha Supports OHKA

Filed under: In the News — Kara Eastman @ 4:19 pm

For the month of June, donations from the One Dime at a Time! Program at Whole Foods Market in Omaha will benefit Omaha Healthy Kids Alliance. Customers can choose to receive their $0.10 per bag refund as cash back or choose to donate the refund to Omaha Healthy Kids Alliance.

May 31, 2008

Blackburn High artists promote lead poisoning prevention

Filed under: In the News — Kara Eastman @ 12:09 pm

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=3940&u_sid=10350407

May 27, 2008

Candies’ potential hazards emphasized

Filed under: In the News, Items with lead — Kara Eastman @ 11:45 am

click here to view Omaha World Herald story

May 23, 2008

Blackburn Students Raise Lead Poisoning Awareness

Filed under: In the News — Kara Eastman @ 10:25 am

http://www.ketv.com/education/16362829/detail.html

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