From the Sierra Club:
Good news over the holidays as the Consumer Product Safety Commission, in response to a petition from the Sierra Club, voted unanimously to move forward with a regulation that could ultimately ban children’s jewelry that was more than 0.06% lead by weight. Children have died after swallowing such jewelry in the past.

From the Associated Press:
Regulators move on ban of children’s jewelry containing lead
By NATASHA T. METZLER, Associated Press Writer
Thursday, December 28, 2006

A government regulatory agency has taken steps toward banning children’s jewelry containing small amounts of lead, which was responsible for more than a dozen product recalls in the past two years.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission voted unanimously to move forward in a process that could ultimately lead to a ban on children’s jewelry containing more than .06 percent lead by weight.

To read the full article click on this post title or the link below.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/12/28/state/n113208S23.DTL

More from the Sierra Club:
Nearly 300,000 young American children have blood lead levels high enough to cause irreversible damage according to the Centers for Disease Control. Every one of these cases is avoidable. While many young children have been affected by lead from paint in older homes, other children are being exposed to the toxin through toys, especially toy jewelry, they love. These toys are identifiable and should not be purchased, played with, or even produced.

Click on the link below for information about ways to protect your child and the effects of lead on young children.
http://www.sierraclub.org/healthycommunities/lead/