The debate always starts this time of the year - real tree or artificial? Spruce, Douglas fir, or pine? If you want an artificial tree, do you go with green, white, silver or pink? A significant benefit of an artificial tree is that it greatly the risk of fire, thanks to the fire retardant chemicals in use by tree manufacturers.
Artificial trees also have the benefit of being reusable and easily stored. A tree that you use for several years can be less expensive than a live tree each year. But artificial trees are not without their own environmental issues. You have to choose carefully. Many artificial Christmas trees are made in China and contain lead. If your tree is several years old, then it is almost certain to have lead in it. If your tree is already pre-wired for lighting, the amount of lead increases. Pre-lighted trees have lots of lead in the electrical wiring.
Most electrical cords in the US contain high amounts of lead, so you ALWAYS WANT TO KEEP THEM AWAY FROM CHILDREN! If you live in California, you will see that product manuals for your computer, TV, lamp etc. have the following warning: “Handling the power cord on this product will expose you to lead, a chemical known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. WASH HANDS AFTER HANDLING.” As far as I know, California is the only state that requires the warning label!
Here are some guidelines on how to properly handle Christmas lights and cords:
- Wear gloves and only let adults handle.
- Keep all lights at a high enough level that curious toddlers cannot reach.
- Wash hands after touching any Christmas lighting.
- Be extra careful when you are out at relatives/friends houses. They may have lots of interesting lights in reach for your curious baby.
- If you can’t hide power cords from children, you can wrap cords in cotton cloth.
If your tree was is several years old, it’s definitely shedding toxic dust as the PVC breaks down. The area where your tree stood will have alarming levels of lead deposits after you’ve taken it down. Wikipedia reports that this is only a problem with old artificial trees, stating that China has outlawed lead in PVC manufacturing. But, many of the new realistic tip trees are made from PE, or polyethylene, which still contain PVC in the branches.
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