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Flame retardants and lead in Mardi Gras beads may pose a danger to people and the environment. A family catches Mardi Gras beads during the Krewe of Thoth parade down St. Charles Avenue in 2000. Researchers at the Ecology Center, who tested Mardi Gras beads, estimate that a single year’s inventory of Mardi Gras beads may contain up to 900,000 pounds of hazardous flame retardants and 10,000 pounds of lead. The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals states beads and throws during Mardi Gras parades may contain lead — and so might soil along parade routes. Ingesting lead is not safe at any “We estimate that a single year’s inventory of Mardi Gras beads may contain many thousands of pounds of hazardous flame retardants and lead.” For our study, we tested 66 components in the 56 necklaces. Most of them contained high levels of bromine (70% of tested samples) and antimony (64% of tested samples), strongly suggesting the While the amount of trash Mardi Gras creates is obvious to parade-goers, the fact that many plastic throws contain lead levels exceeding federal safety guidelines is less obvious. This hidden danger can be toxic for children who may place the beads in their mouths or pick up beads from the dirty ground which also has been proven to have high One-third of the Mardi Gras beads tested exceeded 100 part per million (ppm) of lead, which is the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) federal safety limit for lead in children’s products. While festival beads are not classified as a children’s product, children certainly can come into regular contact with the beads. The stringed beads, often sourced from China, can contain lead, heavy metals, and other materials that can be toxic to humans, particularly children. Tens of millions of pounds of Chinese-made plastic beads are imported to the Gulf Coast for Mardi Gras annually, a cheap but vast loot of plastic throws that only increases in volume each year. Orleans, Louisiana (Flock, 2012). Mardi Gras beads come in all shapes, sizes and colors. This cultural tradition dates from the mid-19th century. Large volumes of Mardi Gras beads go into landfills or are left behind in streets or on fences. Recent studies, for example, have shown that Mardi Gras beads contain hazardous substances like lead. The Ecology Center tested 87 previously used Mardi Gras beads for substances that have been linked to asthma, birth defects, learning disabilities, reproductive problems, liver toxicity and cancer. “Over 60% of the products tested (56 of 87) had concentrations of lead above 100 ppm,” the report reads. In addition to lead, 80% of beads tested contained arsenic, cadmium or flame retardant chemicals. Beyond your own personal exposure these beads are very damaging to the environment. It has been estimated that 900,000 pounds of flame-retardants and 10,000 pounds of lead help make up the yearly inventory of Mardi gras beads. In late 2018 and early 2019, we tested 56 beaded necklaces collected from Gasparilla parades in Florida and from Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans, Louisiana. For necklaces that contained multiple bead colors or pendants, we tested these different components separately. The lead content of the beads is recognized as a health threat, even by officials in Louisiana, the epicenter for Mardi Gras celebrations in this country. A fact sheet from the Louisiana Department of Health warns that “Some beads and throws may contain lead and there may be lead in the soil along the parade routes.” The stringed beads, often sourced from China, can contain lead, The Ecology Center, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, released a report in 2020 on the chemical hazards of Mardi Gras beads, The bead coating did contain lead, Groh said, but since beads were intended to be hung around the neck, the lead content may not have been an immediate threat to most people. Mardi Gras beads are a popular part of the celebrations in New Orleans, but some people are concerned about the possibility of lead in the beads. Lead is a toxic metal that can cause serious health problems, so it’s important to know whether or not the beads you’re using for Mardi Gras celebrations contain it. Do Mardi Gras Beads Contain Lead? Credit: www.vendio.com A single year’s supply of beads from the Ecology Center’s inventory may contain up to 900,000 pounds of hazardous flame retardants and 10,000 pounds of lead, according to researchers who tested them. Lead concentrations were also found to be high on beads collected by the researchers at parades in Mobile, Alabama, during the 2018 Mardi Gras season. Based on these findings, researchers suggest washing hands after handling Mardi Gras beaded necklaces, avoiding putting them in the mouth, and not giving them to children without supervision. NEW ORLEANS -- 'Made in NOLA' -- that's where health and environmental experts want Mardi Gras throws to come from. Experts said beads that come from China are made from toxic waste the U.S. ships ANN ARBOR, Mich., Feb. 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- A new research study finds that top retailers of Mardi Gras beads continue to sell beads and throws that contain hazardous chemicals. Researchers Purple Plastic Mardi Gras Beads from New Orleans Mardi Gras 2012. When tested with an XRF instrument the plastic beads pictured had the following toxicant readings: Lead (Pb): 315 ppm Cadmium (Cd): 132 ppm Arsenic (As): Negative/ Non-Detect Mercury (Hg): Negative/ Non-Detect For more XRF test results of beads I have tested, click here. The
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