Group finds lead in Walmart, Target children's products

Tests have revealed high levels of lead in children's products sold at Walmart and Target, a consumer group working with the California attorney general's office said today. The Oakland, Calif.-based Center for Environmental Health, which commissioned the tests, said lead exceeding allowable levels was found in Walmart products such as toy boxing gloves, toy foam jewelry beads and green and yellow beanbag chairs for toddlers. At Target, the center said it found two chairs with high lead levels, one of which had 70 times the legal limit for lead. Minneapolis-based Target Corp. didn't immediately respond to a request for comment by The Associated Press, but the center said Target agreed to remove the chairs from its stores. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. spokeswoman Melissa Hill said the company is stopping sales of the products in California and from Walmart.com. Hill said the Bentonville-based company would "investigate this matter further." The California attorney general's office confirmed it contacted the retailers about the test results. The Walmart items contained between three times and 45 times the legal limit for lead, the center said. The group said Walmart was wrong to not pull the products companywide.