Lead Found in Pet Toys and Tennis Balls

Nearly half of all tested pet products contained “detectable levels” of hazardous chemicals, including lead in a quarter of all products and nearly half of tennis balls intended for pets!

Are these dog toys safe?

The testing was done by HealthyStuff.org, which focuses primarily on children’s toys. This is what they have to say:

HealthyStuff.org tested over 400 pet products, including beds, chew toys, stuffed toys, collars, leashes, and tennis balls. Since there are no government standards for hazardous chemicals in pet products, it is not surprising that toxic chemicals were found.

• 45% of pet products tested had detectable levels of one or more hazardous chemical, including:
• One-quarter of all pet products had detectable levels of lead.
• 7% of all pet products have lead levels greater than 300 ppm — the current CPSC lead standard for lead in children’s products.
• Nearly half of pet collars had detectable levels of lead; with 27% exceeding 300 ppm — the CPSC limit for lead in children’s products.
• One half (48%) of tennis balls tested had detectable levels of lead. Tennis balls intended for pets were much more likely to contain lead. Sports tennis balls contained no lead.

You can read the Overview of HealthyStuff.org Findings, but it doesn’t say much more than I’ve quoted here. They do list products by brand, type, and level of concern, but I was unable to find the pet products tested. If you see it, let me know! According to their methodology:

The sampling was not random or necessarily designed to be representative of all products on the market.

It is possible most toys are safe. My recommendation, buy sport tennis balls, avoid painted and dyed products, and do some research. I wonder how much a portable X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer costs???

Health and Care, lead poison, safety, tennis balls, toxic items, toys