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Dear Santa: Watch out for potentially toxic fidget spinners.

Two styles of fidget spinners sold at Target contain dangerous levels of lead, according to a consumer safety group. Store officials say they’ve been pulled from the shelves.
Two styles of fidget spinners sold at Target contain dangerous levels of lead, according to a consumer safety group. Store officials say they’ve been pulled from the shelves. WashPIRG

Fidget spinners, the rotating gadgets that helped end that annoying bottle-flipping craze, are under scrutiny.

Target has announced that it’s pulling two styles of spinners, which were sold under the brands “Fidget Wild Premium Spinner Brass” and “Fidget Wild Premium Spinner Metal,” after a report released Thursday found that the products contained dangerous levels of lead.

One of the spinners contained more than 300 times the legal limit for lead in children’s toys, according to WashPIRG, a consumer advocacy group.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) originally told U.S. PIRG Education Fund by email that the fidget spinners found to contain high amounts of lead are not children’s products due to the 14 and up label, WashPIRG’s news release stated.

“While these two products comply with all CPSC guidelines for fidget spinners, based on the concerns raised, we’re removing them from our assortment,” Target spokeswoman Jenna Reck said in a statement to ABC News. “Additionally, we’re working closely with our vendors to ensure all of the fidget spinners carried at Target meet the CPSC’s guidelines for children’s products.”

Target isn’t the only retailer that has sold potentially toxic spinners. FOX6 reports that its staff bought seven spinners from Amazon, sent them to a lab and three of the gadgets contained “very high levels of lead.” The news station also found a spinner from Walmart that tested positive for dangerous levels of lead.

Lisa Pemberton: 360-754-5433, @Lisa_Pemberton

This story was originally published November 11, 2017 at 2:08 PM with the headline "Dear Santa: Watch out for potentially toxic fidget spinners.."

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