The study was conducted by the consumer advocacy group, Campaign for Healthier Solutions, and focused on all of the leading dollar store retailers in the United States and Canada: Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Dollar General, Five Below, and 99 Cents Only Stores.
It found that more than half of the items purchased by researchers at the stores contained one or more chemicals of concern.
At the start of 2021, researchers bought 226 products from stores across the states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, California, New Mexico, Washington, Maine, and Texas in the United States and Ontario in Canada. In total, the products contained 635 unique components or materials.
The products were then tested using various methods depending on the typical chemicals of concern for that specific product type.
In total, researchers found that more than half (53 percent) of the products screened had one or more “chemicals of concern” that are hazardous.
This included canned food goods which contained toxic interior can coatings, including BPA-based epoxy, a type of polymer, and PVC can body coatings, and microwave popcorn products of which 100 percent of the contents tested positive for PFAS coatings, which are typically applied to metal to prevent it from corroding, among other things.
More alarmingly, researchers discovered the presence of toxic metals, endocrine disruptors, and other harmful chemicals in children’s toys at the stores.
One such product included a musical car toy sold at Dollar Tree in Texas which had 174,000 parts per million of lead, another item, a toy pair of lips sold at Dollar General in California was 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.
Furthermore, the study found that children are at a higher risk of exposure and are more vulnerable to phthalates.
Another product purchased at a Five Below store in Maine, Disney-themed headphones, contained TDCIPP (chlorinated tris) flame retardant in the earphone foam, and 656,000 parts per million of lead in solder.
The study comes as the dollar store industry continues to rapidly expand throughout the United States, and at a time when the country is battling historic levels of inflation.
“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 Epoch Times has contacted spokespersons for Dollar General, Five Below, and 99 Cents Only Stores.