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These Claires products may be exposing your child to asbestos
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The kids accessories chain recently pulled more than a dozen items from its stores after a family in Rhode Island discovered that a makeup pallet contained asbestos. - photo by Herb Scribner
Claires has issued a recall for some of its products after a mother who works for a law firm that specializes in asbestos litigation discovered one of the store's makeup kits contained asbestos.

After sending the kit to a lab for testing, Rhode Island mother Kristi Warner complained to the company that its makeup pallet, which Warner bought for her 6-year-old daughter, contained asbestos, according to WJAR-TV, a Rhode Island NBC affiliate.

Warner, who works for the Deaton Law Firm, which specializes in asbestos litigation and targets businesses for negligent actions against families, mailed the makeup kit to an independent lab in North Carolina, called the Scientific Analytical Institute, where tests revealed the makeup contained tremolite asbestos, which contains toxic and cancer-causing material.

"I physically sank, Warner told WJAR. I ended up sitting on the ground, just trying to wrap my head around how something like that could end up in our home.

Asbestos has been linked to mesothelioma, a disease in which cancer cells create a thin layer of tissue on the lung, chest wall or abdomen area, according to the National Cancer Institute. Exposure to asbestos through skin contact can lead to "a high risk of swallowing or breathing in the asbestos," according to MesoWatch, which provides information on mesothelioma and exposure.

Warner and her boss John Deaton bought 17 products from nine different states to determine if other children were at risk, KRIS-TV reported.

Sean Fitzgerald of Scientific Analytical Institute says he found tremolite asbestos in every single product.

"The fact that the majority of the products came from the store shelves in the last two weeks means that there are other children being exposed," Fitzgerald said.

Clare's has issued a statement: At Claires the safety of our customers is of paramount importance, and we are passionate about the safety and integrity of our products. We work closely with our vendors to ensure our products are tested and assessed in line with the relevant country regulations and guidelines,

The company said it will pull items from its shelves and take necessary action once they find results from their own investigation.

A list of affected products can be found on Claires website.

According to the Daily Mail, the Scientific Analytical Institute made news earlier this year when it discovered asbestos in Justice makeup products, too. Justice said its own investigation found no asbestos existed in its products.
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