High levels of lead prompted the federal government to recall a children's insulated water bottle from store shelves. The bottles are being sold by L.L.Bean, a company based in Freeport, Maine in the United States.
The voluntary recall was issued on Tuesday, July 19, by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Portland Press Herald reported. According to the CPSC, high levels of lead in the solder bead were found at the water bottle's exterior base. The bottles are made in China and distributed in the U.S. by a company in Spokane, Washington.
Lead can be toxic to people who ingest it. Even low levels of lead can affect children's IQ, attention skills, and academic achievement, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wrote.
Full Refund Offered By L.L.Bean
No injuries or accidents have been reported due to the exposure to L.L.Bean's water bottles. Five styles of the 13.5-ounce water bottles with printed graphics were recalled: Dino Bones, Flower Power, Orange Grid camo, Purple Tie Dye Butterfly, and Robo Shark.
L.L.Bean is offering a full refund for customers who purchased the water bottles since it became available in the fall of 2015. Around 6,700 of the water bottles were bought. The water bottle being recalled has the identification number 297684 on its bottom, as well as the labels "PO#844" and "BB2D2-LLB-R45-0413."
L.L.Bean Speaks Up
L.L.Bean spokeswoman Carolyn Beem said the company regrets disappointing its customers, adding that the item was "designed specifically to be lead-free and initial testing confirmed that this was the case," the Portland Press Herald further reported. According to L.L.Bean's website, the bottles "were erroneously sealed on the bottom with a solder bead containing lead instead of the lead-free solder bead originally specified."
The company found the lead on the item's bottom exterior during a quality testing. Beem said that L.L.Bean's main concern is a child can come in contact with the lead, but they aren't worried that it would seep into the contents of the bottle's interior part.
Consumers can contact L.L.Bean at 800-555-9717 from 8 AM to 10 PM for more information about the recall. They can also visit https://www.llbean.com online and click "Recall & Safety Info."
Other products recently recalled by the CPSC are children's bracelets from Things Remembered for its lead content, Nestlé Waters' AccuPure countertop filtered water dispensers for burn and fire hazards, and The Clorox Company's Liquid Plumr clog removers for failing to meet child-resistant closure requirement.
