Retailers Yank Lead-Based Vinyl Mini-blinds

New findings that vinyl miniblinds may cause lead poisoning have prompted home centers across the country to pull the products from their shelves.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommended homes with children under 6 should not have non-glossy vinyl mini-blinds, since lead dust may form on their surface when exposed to sun and heat.

A test by the commission illustrated that a child would have to ingest the lead contaminant each day for several weeks to develop elevated blood levels oflead.

So far, all the mini-blinds in question have been imports. While leadbased paint has been restricted in the U.S. since 1978. other countries have far more lax requirements. Each year, about 25 million blinds are imported from Taiwan, China, Mexico and Indonesia.

Some stores have stopped selling the blinds and are offering refunds to purchasers. Others are posting warning signs, until they can determine the seriousness of the threat.

Consumers are clamoring for lead testing kits, while some retailers will test the blinds for those who bring them in.

California state attorney general Dan Lungren filed a lawsuit accusing 12 manufacturers and retailers of failing to include visible warnings with the lead-based products, as required by Proposition 65, which was approved by voters in 1986.

The defendants are: HomeBase, Wal-Mart Stores, Kmart Corp., J.C. Penney Co., Montgomery Ward & Co. Inc., Jencraft Corp., Lotus and Windoware Inc., Newell Window Furnishings Inc., Bethel Group Inc., Kirsch Co., Richfield Window Coverings and Window Concepts Inc.

Software Providers Merge. Sirvys Systems Group's Round Rock Technologies division, producers of Lumbercore software. has acquired and merged with Voelker, Thompson and Associates, providers of Woodstock and Inventrac software systems.

Winnipeg, Canada-based Sirvys now supports nearly 1,000 sites using

Lumbercore, ProfitMaster Canada, Woodstock and Inventrac systems in the U.S., Canada, Caribbean and Pacific Rim.

Bruce Voelker, past president of Voelker, Thompson and Associates, is now vice president of research and development for the AS/400 Division. Woodstock and Inventrac users will continue to be served from its Metairie, La., offices.