State regulators announced Thursday they have levied more than $200,000 in penalties against four downtown retailers for selling jewelry tainted with lead and other toxic metals.
The state Department of Toxic Substances Control announced the penalties as the culmination of a three-year investigation and enforcement sweep of retailers selling hazardous jewelry.
The biggest fine – $145,000 – was levied against Joia Trading Inc., also known as Luxy Accessories Inc. The downtown retailer was accused of both selling jewelry with levels of lead in excess of that allowed by state law and of advertising its jewelry as lead-free.
Downtown jewelry retailers Outshine Inc., Sun’s Trading Co. and Costar Group settled similar allegations for $24,960, $22,000 and $19,830 respectively, the department said in its announcement.
When the Business Journal placed a call to Luxy Accessories seeking comment from Chief Executive Hyan Sook Kim, the person answering the phone said Kim was out of the country and was not expected to return until sometime next month.
An attorney who had represented Luxy in the case early on said he was no longer involved in the case and could not comment on today’s announcement.
