This Year's Scariest Halloween Costume? Toxic Facepaint!

Trick-o-treaters beware. No, it's not the haunted houses nor goblins you should fear this Halloween season. If you're really looking for a fright, check out the report released by HealthyStuff.org this week on children's makeup kits. The results are certainly scarier than any Halloween costume.

The study tested 31 children’s Halloween makeup kits sold in southeast Michigan. All samples contained at least one heavy metal, including cadmium, mercury, lead, and chromium. Cadmium was found in more than half of the samples.

These heavy metals have been linked to developmental and learning disabilities in children, skin allergies, brain damage, and cancer. That's some seriously scary stuff we’re putting on our children’s skin.

That is why Michigan LCV has been working with the Michigan Network for Children's Environmental Health to support bi-partisan legislation that will protect children's health from toxic chemicals. In October, Sen. Roger Kahn (R-Saginaw Twp) introduced SB 764, which will ban heavy metals such as cadmium and mercury from children’s products sold in Michigan.

To support this bill, Michigan LCV attended a Lansing Lobby Day and led teams of constituents, where concerned parents, health professionals, students, and environmental groups met with our senators and representatives to discuss the importance of supporting this bill.

Show your support! Ask your senator to co-sponsor SB 764 so our Halloween won't have to be quite so scary for our kids anymore.