In light of Mattel's recall of 250,000 toys due to their lead content, officials at Le Bonheur Children's Medical Center encourage parents to remove the recalled toys, which may contain excessive levels of lead. In most cases, cleaning the play area will be enough to remove the risk.

"The general rule of thumb is that there is no 'safe' level of lead when it comes to children. Trace amounts of lead can be harmful to a child over time," said Bryan Williams, Ph.D. Williams is an environmental epidemiologist-toxicologist in pediatrics at the Children's Research Foundation Center at Le Bonheur. "The lead levels found in plastics from China thus far are extremely high by American standards and could theoretically pose a risk of acute toxicity in a child."

Williams stresses that just because a child has a recalled toy doesn't necessarily mean the child was actually exposed to high levels. "The younger the child with the toy, the higher the likelihood of exposure because of the child's tendency to chew on the toy or put their hands in their mouths. I would encourage testing but this is not a medical emergency," he said.

Le Bonheur first recommends that parents dispose of the toys and vacuum and wash down the play space. American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines suggest that a child get tested at least once in the first 3 years of life but many children do not get tested, Williams says. Parents should ask for a blood test that detects lead poisoning at their child's pediatrician's office or at the health department.

"Lead is a neurotoxin and in small doses its effects are likely to subtle or sub clinical," Williams said. However, chronic exposure to low levels of lead in children is associated with developmental delays, hypertension, impaired hearing acuity and impaired hemoglobin synthesis. And at acute levels, symptoms include severe GI disturbance, severe anemia, chronic nephritis and seizures.

In 2005, 159 Tennessee children had confirmed cases of lead poisoning. Twenty-nine of those cases were in Shelby County.

For additional information about the product recall, parents should contact Fischer-Price at 800-916-4498 or visit www.service.mattel.com.