By Ron Benvenisi.

Dollar Stores are selling numerous products having large numbers of toxic chemicals, including children’s toys, according to a new study.

The study was recently conducted by Campaign for Healthier Solutions, on the leading dollar store retailers in the United States and Canada:

• Dollar Tree
• Family Dollar
• Dollar General
• Five Below
• 99 Cents Only 

Its findings were nothing short of frightening:

More than half of the items purchased by researchers at the stores contained one or more chemicals of concern.

In the beginning of 2021, the researchers bought 226 products from stores across the US and Canada finding numerous products with 635 different materials and and/or components of concern. The products were further tested using specific methods depending on the typical chemicals found in the product type.

Of the total, more than half (53 percent) of the products tested had one or more “chemicals of concern” that are hazardous.

Some of The Tested Products of Concern:

• Canned food that contained toxic interior can coatings:
• BPA-based epoxy, a type of polymer plastic
• PVC can body coatings
• Microwave popcorn products where 100 percent of the contents tested positive for PFAS coatings, which are typically applied to metal to prevent it from corroding
• Products made with flexible PVC which had “banned, regulated or inadequately studied plasticizers”,
• Consumer electronics with lead solder, flame retardants, and phthalate plasticizers*
• A musical car toy sold at Dollar Tree which had 174,000 parts per million of lead
• A toy pair of lips sold at Dollar General made with polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a major source of phthalates; a group of chemicals used to make plastic items such as packaging, garden hoses, and medical tubing more durable.
• At a Five Below store, Disney-themed headphones, contained TDCIPP*, a flame retardant in the earphone foam, and 656,000 parts per million of lead in solder.
• Several products were found contained other “chemicals of concern” including antimony compounds, organotins, and bromine, which is corrosive to human tissue, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

*It is not clear what the long-term effects of exposure to phthalates are, a 2021 study found that they can be “detrimental to the reproductive, neurological, and developmental systems of humans from multiple exposure pathways.”

The study also determined that children are at a higher risk of exposure and are more vulnerable to phthalates.

*TDCIPP exposure can increase the risk of cancer in humans.

Unbelievably, even the receipts from the stores were tested by researchers and were found to contain “chemicals of concern”, including bisphenol S, which has been found to disrupt hormones in humans.

A parent told the Guardian, “As a parent, I should be able to buy a product without expecting to poison my child,” José Bravo, national coordinator at the Campaign for Healthier Solutions.”

“Many families rely on dollar stores for affordable toys and other products for kids,” Bravo, said in a statement. “With their high-profit margins, dollar stores must do more to ensure that all of these products are safe.”

The dollar store industry continues to rapidly expand throughout the United States at a time when the country is at previously unheard-of levels of inflation.

Out of 7,300 retail stores that opened in 2020 and 2021, a full 43 percent of them were dollar stores, according to CNN Money.

Many families rely on dollar stores for affordable toys and other products for kids, with their high-profit margins, it is indisputable that dollar stores must do more to ensure that all of these products are safe.

Randy Guiler, vice president for investor relations at Dollar Tree, which also owns Family Dollar, told E&E News what has become the de-facto answer to safety concerns, despite the findings,

“The safety of our product is a key priority for us. Our products are tested to ensure compliance with all federal and state requirements, and our testing protocols are in place to check for regulated standards.”