Dollar Store Products Are Toxic Deals: Report

Millions of Americans rely on the cheap consumer goods found at bargain dollar stores. Although people of all means enjoy these bargains, people of limited means in inner cities and rural areas are particularly likely to patronize dollar stores.

But they do so at their peril. Almost all dollar store products (including children’s jewelry and other kids’ items) contain one or more hazardous chemicals, according to a new study conducted by the Campaign for Healthier Solutions, a national coalition of more than 100 health, community, and environmental justice organizations, and the consumer testing group HealthyStuff.org.

Researchers exhaustively analyzed 164 products purchased from the nation’s four largest dollar store chains: Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, and 99 Cents Only.

They tested the products for substances such as antimony, arsenic, bromine, chlorine, lead, mercury, and tin. When they found that certain products contained polyvinyl chloride plastic (PVC or vinyl), they conducted further tests to identify phthalate and non-phthalate plasticizers.
Among the major findings:

• 81 percent of the products (133 out of 164) contained at least one hazardous chemical above levels of concern, and 49 percent contained two or more.
• 38 percent of the products tested (63 out of 164) contained vinyl plastic.
• Of the vinyl products, 38 were tested for plasticizers. 32 percent (12 out of 38) of these contained toxic phthalates above limits for children’s products.

Such toxins have been linked to a wide range of conditions including cancer, obesity, diabetes, asthma, reduced fertility, thyroid and kidney diseases, learning disabilities, problems, lower IQ, birth defects, and early puberty.

“Children are at greatest risk from exposure to toxic chemicals,” state the report’s authors, “because they eat, drink, and breathe more per pound of body weight than adults, their bodies do not process many toxic chemicals in the same way that adult bodies do, and children’s bodies are changing and developing rapidly.”

In statements, the companies said they comply with all federal and state regulations.

“To that end, Dollar General uses accredited, third-party testing organizations that follow regulated guidelines and protocols to test all products that the company directly imports,” said company spokesman Dan MacDonald, adding that foreign and domestic store suppliers “are required to certify that the products they provide to Dollar General are properly tested to ensure compliance with state and federal product safety standards.”

A spokeswoman for Family Dollar echoed that statement, and said the company’s quality and compliance program requires suppliers to sign and certify that they meet standards for “health and safety, environmental protection,” and other issues.

But the Campaign for Healthier Solutions report doesn’t allege that any rules or safety standards were violated. Rather, it said these products fall into gaps in the federal Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976.

Some of the most highly contaminated products include:

• Metal children’s jewelry. These glittery products contain high levels of lead, a toxic metal which can easily leach out when children suck on or scratch on it. Even miniscule amounts can affect children’s brain development.

• Electronic accessories testing high in chlorine. These include extension cords, USB charging cords, and cell phone charger cables. High chlorine levels are linked to PVC, a cancer-causing chemical.

• Plastic kitchen utensils. Such utensils may contain high levels of bromine, a component in brominated flame retardants, or BFRs. Because these chemicals have been linked to cancer, birth defects and impaired brain development, they have been banned or phased out in the United States.

• Flannel-backed table covers. These contain high levels of the neurotoxic metal lead, which has been linked to harm in developing fetuses and young children.

• Metallic Christmas garlands. These, too, test high in bromine and BFRs, which can seep into household dust. When inhaled, they can cause thyroid problems, memory impairment, and other health issues.

• Silly straws. These products contain high levels of the phthalate DEHP, which is used to soften brittle plastics. Such chemicals have been linked to asthma and allergies, prostate and testicular cancer, and Type 2 diabetes.

• Vinyl floor coverings. Such products have high levels of phthalates and chlorine. Researchers are especially concerned about such products because they can affect multiple parts of the body.

• Holiday light strings. Such products are coated with high levels of cancer-causing and thyroid-disrupting flame-retardant chemicals, which can be transferred from your hands to your mouth and GI system.

• Mari Gras metallic beads. These necklaces test high in bromine, which suggests that recycled plastic is probably the primary filler.

• Window clings and removable wall stickers. They may look cute and feature some of your favorite stars, but they tend to contain PVC, which the American Public Health Association has called “among the most hazardous of plastic materials.”