Hannah Montana’s Killing Spree: It’s Not Over Yet

Not content with potentially maiming fans who would dare to buy boots branded with her name, Miley Ray Cyrus/Hannah Montana is continuing her reign of merchandise terror, this time through the use of toxic levels of lead paint in somewhat-innocent-looking vinyl purses:

Vinyl backpacks, a vinyl purse and other Hannah Montana items purchased from Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500), Target (TGT, Fortune 500) and Toys “R” Us stores contained the toxic metal, some of them in excess of the federal standard for lead paint, the CEH said.

According to the organization, it purchased 28 Hannah Montana products in stores and online. Five of them tested between three and fourteen times the federal standard, which is between 1,800 and 8,300 parts per million.

“Lead can impact girls’ learning and development throughout their youth and later can reduce their ability to have healthy children. It’s the worst of both worlds,” said CEH director Michael Green in a statement.

The offending accessories:

I’d be more offended by the overuse of sparkles, although come to think of it, that’s probably where the problem’s coming from. And really, wouldn’t the “Secret Star” emblazoning be a little more creatively deployed if it were on the inside of the change purse?

Lead found in some Hannah Montana items [CNNMoney via ONTD]