The potential contamination of lead was first detected by an independent investigation by ABC affiliate KNXV-TV in 200 of the Phoenix Paulson brand chips. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA's) legal limit is .06 percent in paint and the swabs showed all had levels of surface lead exceeding the EPA limit of 0.06 percent.
More than half maxed out the swab's 10 percent limit, which is more than 160 times the federal limit, the news station reported. The lowest chips were having four times the EPA limit and one chip used at a Las Vegas casino contained 45 percent total lead.
Diane Eckles, head of the Arizona Department of Health Services' environmental health office, wrote in a letter to the U.S. EPA said, "We're bringing this to your attention because of the potential exposure to the most vulnerable population, the children of families that currently have this product in their homes."
"There is also a potential for the dealers to expose their families, specifically children, to this lead hazard," Eckles added.
Gerard Charlier, Chief Executive of Gaming Partners International Corp. the company that makes and distributes Poker chips in Las Vegas, issued a statement that said, "Although testing has proven the existence of lead in the chips, the mere presence of lead is not sufficient to prove there is a health risk."
"In fact, independent testing has also demonstrated that the simple handling of these chips would not produce any risk of health concerns to the consumer nor to the environment," Charlier said.
The statement also added that the company has reformulated the chips and they now only contain trace amounts of lead well below applicable safety standards. Lead may cause irreversible neurological damage as well as renal disease, cardiovascular effects, and reproductive toxicity.
