Report: High lead levels found in some fidget spinners

"You don't know what that means the first time you hear that you're kid has lead poisoning," Tamara Rubin said.

Rubin says her sons still suffer debilitating effects from lead exposure in their home 12 years ago when she says contractors used unsafe methods to remove lead paint.

Now, the Portland mother of four helps other parents learn more about products that may contain lead. Her "Lead Safe Mama" Facebook page has over 15,000 followers. She tests consumer products that concerned parents send to her, including hundreds of fidget spinners. She says many of them had concerning levels of lead.

"It's on the center, the part you're interacting with so it's definitely a hazard for children," Rubin said of one spinner.

Rubin's blog caught the attention of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a consumer advocacy organization. They tested 12 fidget spinners found in children's toy aisles in Target stores across the country. Two of the products tested with high levels of lead, one contained levels reaching 33,000 parts per million. That's 30 times higher than the legal limit for children's products.

"They should take these toys off the shelves," said Kara Cook, USPIRG's toxics program director. "The reason lead is a large concern-- especially in children's products-- is that when children are exposed to high levels of lead they can experience things like memory loss, learning disabilities."

When the group contacted Target and asked them to take the product off the shelves, Target declined, saying the two products are not designed for children. According to the packaging, they are marked for ages 14 and up. Target says they are not defined by the Consumer Product Safety Commission as toys and as a result, "are not required to meet children's product standards."

The toy's manufacturer, Bulls I Toys, similarly stated in a letter to the safety group: "The products in question are clearly labled 'ages 14+.' There are no mandatory CPSC requirements for it."

The CPSC classifies fidget spinners as "general use products" which are products aimed at ages 12+ and do not require the same testing, including lead testing, that children's toys and products do.

USPIRG is pushing to change the guidelines for these popular gadgets. We reached out to Bulls I Toys for comment. We had not yet heard back when this story was published.

The safety group is not aware of any reported cases of kids getting lead poisoning from fidget spinners but they urge awareness and transparency on the part of the retailers, especially when putting the items in children's toy sections.