A state Senate race has thrust into the spotlight the state's investigation into safe levels of cadmium in children's jewelry.

At a debate Tuesday in Old Lyme for the 33rd state Senate seat, Democratic candidate Emily Bjornberg questioned incumbent Sen. Art Linares' appointment of a representative from the jewelry industry to a task force researching a safe threshold of the metal in children's jewelry.

"People in this audience should know that Art recently had the opportunity to study the issue of cadmium and create policy that would have protected our children, and in particular, our little girls," said Bjornberg at the debate at Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School, which also included Colin Bennett of the Green Party.

"Cadmium is a heavy metal, much like lead, that manufacturers are using in children's jewelry. Cadmium has been classified by the FDA as a potential neuro-toxin and carcinogen both," she said.

Linares, a Republican from Westbrook, defended his choice to appoint Brent Cleaveland, executive director of the Fashion Jewelry and Accessories Trade Association, to the task force, which will present recommendations to the legislature.

The ranking Republican on the Select Committee on Children, Linares voted to establish the task force investigating cadmium levels in children's jewelry and appointed Cleaveland, who has been in the industry for more than 25 years.

"He is an advocate for making sure that children's jewelry is safe for everyone," Linares said at the debate. "That's what he spends his career doing, so I thought he was a good person to be on the task force."

The argument dominated part of the debate for Senate district that covers Chester, Clinton, Colchester, Deep River, East Haddam, East Hampton, Essex, Haddam, Lyme, Old Saybrook, Portland and Westbrook.

But a conversation over safe levels of cadmium in children's jewelry has been ongoing within the General Assembly.

Two years ago, the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission ruled against a petition for stricter standards for children's jewelry and instead said the industry standards - called ASTM F-2923 - were adequate, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, a bipartisan organization that advocates for state legislatures.

No federal regulations

Currently, there are no federal regulations for the amount of cadmium in children's jewelry, except voluntary industry standards, according to the NCSL website. California, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota and Washington have set their own standards. Rhode Island, which has a large jewelry-making industry, has adopted the industry standards as its own.

The Connecticut Senate considered this year adopting the voluntary trade standards of 300 parts per million for the metal in children's jewelry as its own.

Ultimately, the legislature passed a new law that delays for two years requirements - originally slated to go into effect in July - for children's jewelry to have cadmium levels no higher than 75 parts per million. The law also creates a 16-member task force to "study the threshold at which cadmium is safe in children's jewelry."

The accumulation of cadmium in the body is suspected of leading to health problems, from developmental delays to kidney failure.

The current task force includes legislators, arepresentative from the jewelry manufacturing industry, a representative from a state jewelry retail business or association, a child advocacy group member, a municipal health director and others. The task force began meeting in July and must present its recommendations to the legislature by Jan. 15.

State Rep. Diana Urban, D-North Stonington, chairwoman of the Select Committee on Children, said representatives from the Rhode Island jewelry industry were lobbying Connecticut legislators to move toward the industry standards.

Urban instead proposed a task force representing different points of view.

Substitute for lead

Urban said cadmium has acted as a cheap substitute in jewelry for the now-banned lead.Cadmium makes jewelry shiny and helps it retain its shape.

Urban pointed out that children often put jewelry in their mouths, chew on it or otherwise "distress" it by hammering or stomping on it. She said the industry standards test jewelry "in perfect condition," not after it has been distressed.

She said the stricter standards of 75 parts per million would have reduced the amount of cadmium in jewelry but still allowed the jewelry to retain its shape. She also said she thinks the benefits of using a safer material, such as zinc, in children's jewelry, outweigh the higher costs to businesses.

Bjornberg criticized Linares for not serving on the task force himself.

The task force is required to include the "Children's and General Law committees' chairpersons and ranking members, or their designees."

Urban said Linares and the other ranking member, Rep. Whit Betts, R-Bristol, gave up their responsibility to represent their constituents to an industry lobbyist and industry representative.

"Do they answer to the legislator's district or do they answer to the industry?" asked Urban.

Cleaveland, Linares' designee, testified before the General Law Committee in February in favor of having Connecticut follow the industry standards, which he said are safe and "supported by a peer-reviewed toxicological assessment." Cleaveland said he served as chairman of the ASTM International Committee, which established industry safety standards for children's jewelry and worked with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission "to identify hazards and risks relating to children's jewelry."

In an interview, Linares said he chose Cleaveland as an expert in the industry who has worked nationally and with Rhode Island to build consensus on cadmium levels in children's jewelry.

He said the purpose of the task force is to make non-binding recommendations to the legislature. It does not create laws, he said.

"I am hoping we can come up with a consensus on appropriate levels of cadmium that are safe for children's jewelry," said Linares. "In general, I support and look forward to a bill that reduces the level of cadmium in children's jewelry."

Consensus needed

He said the reality is the legislature needs consensus to pass a bill.

Otherwise the state will be stuck without laws on the book to make children's jewelry safe, he said.

"I think part of this task force is for people with different ideologies to come up with something they can agree on," he said.

In an interview, Bjornberg said, "I think our kids deserve an honest and open discussion that involves really unbiased people."

She said the task force was initially designed so two of the 16 people would represent the industry, but another 14 were to be there to ensure the industry was standing by safe standards for children.

She said the task force is considering the potential for kids to digest cadmium or put jewelry beads in their mouths and needs to have "a very open and honest discussion of how dangerous it is and at what point it becomes dangerous."

She said the conversation about cadmium is not unlike the conversation the state had about lead, which benefited from representation from parents, pediatricians and scientists.

At Tuesday's debate, Bjornberg also charged that Cleaveland has defended the use of lead in some products. In campaign literature, she referenced a quotation from Cleaveland in a New York Times blog post: "It's a gross exaggeration to suggest that the lead you get on your fingers from handling a wallet is a health problem."

Urban said the task forceis tackling a very complex subject, and it's been a very healthy process.

Urban said the panel is hearing from a variety of experts, including a pediatrician and a chemistry professor, and there have been some good questions raised, such as why not test the jewelry after kids stomp on it.

"It's been a very educational experience for all of us," she said.

k.drelich@theday.com

Twitter: @KimberlyDrelich