Thanks to a couple of celebrities, the presence of cadmium in metal jewelry has gotten its share of media attention lately. Walmart announced today that it is taking Miley Cyrus-branded jewelry off its shelves after it was found to contain cadmium. And last week Stephen Colbert made light of the heavy metal after it was found in 19,000 charm bracelets recalled by Claire's.

In April, Walmart began testing for cadmium in kids jewelry, toys, crafts, bibs, pacifiers and other child-care items saying that it did not want to wait until standards had been developed by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The retailer is following cadmium standards set by the European Union

In its testing, Walmart found that its Miley Cyrus & Max Azria jewelry was tainted with cadmium and removed it from sale. The retailer emphasized that the jewelry was sold in its ladies apparel section and was "not intended for children." But given Miley's pre-teen fan base, it's not a stretch to imagine that children would be wearing her jewelry.

Railing against the "nanny state," Colbert issued a consumer alert—the t is silent—about Claire's recalled "best friends" bracelet. "What's a little cadmium among best friends?" he pondered. (Watch the video clip.)

After all, he pointed out, there is an upside: "These products laced with heavy metals are a great way to teach our kids about the periodic table." Indeed.

—Mary H.J. Farrell