Manufacturing Jewelers & Suppliers of America has alerted its members to take precautionary steps to ensure any base metal jewelry imported into the U.S. market is not made with cadmium.

The alert came following an Associated Press investigation of U.S. retail outlets, in which 12 of 103 pieces of mainly Chinese-made children’s costume jewelry were found to contain dangerous amounts of the toxic metal-a finding that has spurred the Consumer Product Safety Commission and state and federal legislators to vow regulatory action.

MJSA advised its members to require all suppliers of non-precious, white-metal alloys for cast costume jewelry or solders to provide documentation concerning cadmium content (if any), and to consider third-party testing to confirm assurances of safe levels.

MJSA said in its alert that there are currently no specific cadmium restrictions on jewelry. The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, enacted in 2008, does regulate cadmium in painted toys, and the CPSC has the power to target cadmium based on the Federal Hazardous Substances Act.

JCK