In 2007, the words lead in jewelry, toys and other consumer products were prevalent in the news. Lead in children's jewelry continues to be a concern.

What is lead? Lead is a toxic metal found in the earth's crust. Because of its abundance, low cost, and physical properties lead and lead compounds have been used in a wide variety of products including jewelry.

Lead is known to cause serious health problems especially in children. They can range from behavioral issues to neurological damage. It is estimated that more than 310,000 children under the age of six have been poised by lead.

In December 2007, the federal government passed a law (PL 110-314, sec. 101) which governs the amount of acceptable lead content in jewelry. As of February 10, 2009, the amount of lead found in children's jewelry can not exceed .06% by weight (600 ppm). This will continue to decrease until August, 2011. At which time the lead amount will not be able to exceed 100 ppm.

Before, these issues were pushed to the front headlines. Some small jewelry manufacturers had foresight. Over the past five years, New Hampshire Materials Laboratory has been providing chemical analysis for their products prior to selling them. Recently, during a non-destructive screening analysis, we found the jewelry to be lead free. Yet, it contained cadmium, a metal of nearly equal toxicity.

If you are a jewelry manufacturer large or small, you may want to consider testing the jewelry parts to ensure you are in accordance to the federal government law. New Hampshire Materials is here to assist you. We consider ourselves to be our customer's problem solving partners. Visit us at our website: www.nhml.com for all our services.

Arizona golf ball manufacturer, Dixon, has developed a line of environmentally responsible golf balls. Dixon's Earth golf ball is "green" throughout and does not contain heavy metals like tungsten, cobalt, lead, or non-renewable synthetic materials and compounds often found in mainstream products. The ball has a graded-density core made from a proprietary polymer combination that preserves the playable properties of the ball. The ball is fabricated from new materials to ensure consistent playing properties but is 100% recyclable. Dixon works with a local company to recycle the balls into playgrounds, football field turf, etc.

The golf balls are no less playable for being environmentally friendly. ln testing, the Dixon Earth ball was found to play better than most two-piece golf balls and out-performed several three-piece, urethane cover balls. lt plays the distance, spins, sticks on the greens, and has plenty of "feel" when putting. Each box of Dixon Earth golf balls includes a return mail pouch so golfers can mail used golf balls back to Dixon easily. Introduced earlier this year the Dixon Earth golf ball conforms to USGA certification standards. Website: www.dixongolf.com.

Source: Advanced Materials & Processes - December 2008 Volume 166 No. 12