Lead Poisoning from Christmas Trees?!?

Unbelievably, my new AC adapter arrived for my laptop. I ordered it on Monday and really hoped only that it might arrive by Saturday. What a surprise to see it on my front steps today! But good surprises are always welcome. :)

Since I was unable to post pictures and did late posts, I have decided to take a break this week from the activity posts. I am going to concentrate on getting my site up on kid-daze.com instead. Then I will start up again on Sunday with the activity posts again. I will be reposting Monday and Tuesday complete with photos of the crafts.

Meanwhile, I wanted to write about an interesting discovery that we made in our home this past week. Friday was the day to pull out the Christmas tree and set it up. We purchased one of those pre-lit artificial trees several years ago. This year when we set up the tree, several of the strings were not lighting up - bummer! So, my dear hubby began fiddling with it and eventually got all but the strand at the very top to light up. I pulled out the paperwork that came with the tree to see if there were any tips on dealing with unlit strands. I read through it all and it was the last bit on the "Important Safety Instructions" that threw me for a loop. I quote:

"Prop. 65 Warning: Handling the coated electrical wires of this product exposes you to lead, a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects and other reproductive harm. Wash hands after use."

Now, I don't know about you, but I would never in my wildest dreams have considered my Christmas tree as a potential source for lead poisoning. This is especially distressing considering I was pregnant with my first child when we bought the tree and we are going on our third year of handling these lead coated wires.

I googled "Christmas tree lead poisoning" and surprise, surprise, there are a lot of articles out there. One thing I read was that the concern was greater with products made in China. (as our tree was, as well as the slew of recently recalled toys) Also, just because there is no warning doesn't mean that there is no lead in your Christmas lights or other decorations. It just means they don't sell it in California which requires by law that it is marked as containing lead.

Here is a link with valuable information on it geared toward safety for your children.
health information

Now why haven't I heard about this before? Does everyone else know this and I just live under the proverbial rock? Or is this new and disturbing information to the other parents out there?

PLEASE, pass this information along. Thanks!