Up until recently, much of the cheap children’s jewelry imported from overseas contained lead. This was a problem as kids wearing the jewelry put it in their mouths and were poisoned by the heavy metal. In 2008, the US Congress created stringent new laws to limit lead in toys and jewelry meant for children. As a result, the manufacturers in China had to replace the lead used in these items with another metal.

Now, the Associated Press has documented in an investigative report that testing done on some children’s jewelry imported from China contains the toxic metal cadmium, which is even more harmful than lead. Cadmium, which is known to cause cancer and can hinder brain development in the very young, is a soft, whitish metal that occurs naturally in soil. Cadmium is cheap and plentiful in China. Much of the supply of this heavy metal In China is a result of all the electronic waste that is shipped to that country for recycling. Seventy percent of the world’s e-waste is estimated to be dumped in China.

Lab tests conducted by chemistry professor Jeff Weidenhamer of Ashland University in Ohio for the AP found that on 103 pieces of low-priced children's jewelry on sale in the U.S., 12 items had raised levels of cadmium. The most contaminated piece of jewelry contained 91 percent cadmium by weight, with other jewelry items tested at 89 percent, 86 percent and 84 percent by weight. The testing also showed that some items easily shed the heavy metal, raising additional concerns about the levels of exposure to children.

Charms on a "Best Friends" bracelet sold at Claire's contained 89 and 91 percent cadmium, according to the AP tests, and shed alarming amounts in a procedure that examined how much cadmium children might be exposed to. Charms on a "Best Friends" bracelet sold at Claire's contained 89 and 91 percent cadmium and shed disturbing levels of the heavy metal.

U.S. product safety authorities are beginning an investigation into the presence of the cadmium in children's jewelry imported from China. As a cautionary measure, Walmart and Claire’s have pulled many suspect items from their store shelves.

Although jewelry manufacturers sometimes use zinc as a substitute for lead, the use of cadmium has been documented in some cases. Unless you can be certain of the metal content in children’s jewelry it is safest to avoid it all together.