RUMFORD – Want to buy an all-terrain vehicle, dirt bike or minisnowmobile for your 12-year-old? Check out Uncle Henry’s, as dealers are not allowed to sell them because they may have high levels of lead.

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 went into effect Tuesday and is designed to protect children from lead contamination. According to the law, ATVs, dirt bikes and minisnowmobiles primarily intended for children age 12 and under need to undergo third-party testing to ensure compliance with the new standard limit of 600 parts per million total lead content by weight for any part of a product.

Lead in youth off-road machines – just like cars and trucks – currently surpasses that.

The law affects a wide range of products, including toys, clothing, bicycles, baby strollers and even those cute little ATVs, dirtbikes and minisleds for kids.

There’s too much lead in the batteries, in metal alloys and several other parts.

All but one dealer contacted Wednesday morning said they were aware of the new law and had complied with it after being notified by manufacturers to remove the children’s vehicles from the sales floor.

Dan Knights, a mechanic at Maine-ly Action Sports in Oxford, said he was unaware of the new law. They sell Polaris youth ATVs and minisleds.

Arctic Cat dealers Rick Hebert of Mountain Valley Sports in Rumford and Ron Ames of Ames Sports Shop in Auburn, and Kevin Robichaud of Ken’s Yamaha in Norway, all said their product manufacturers advised them last month of the coming change.

“I’m not familiar with the law at all,” Hebert said, “but the information we got said we have to stop selling them. They have some update kits coming for the ones we have, so we’ll be able to start selling them again.”

However, he said he had no idea what “update kits” meant.

“I don’t know if it’s to make them comply or what. I don’t know what’s wrong with them,” Hebert said.

“We’ve got some Yamaha labels to put on our bigger kids’ products that’s intended for kids 12 and up for a couple of the ATV models and some of the dirt bikes. Those comply. Those, they’ve had certified and we have to put labels on them, but it’s the younger under-12 market that’s stopped right now for both dirt bikes and ATVs and, apparently, clothing and gear and everything,” Robichaud said.

Both Ames and Hebert said neither sell that many recreational machines for young children, so they’re not as worried as is Robichaud.

“We don’t sell a lot of dirt bikes in the winter or youth ATVs anyways, so it hasn’t affected us. But I know it will when springtime comes around. So, hopefully, they can get this straightened around pretty quick. But at this point, there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. It’s just a stoppage,” Robichaud said.

“I think once springtime rolls around, if they don’t get this rectified, it will be an issue,” Robichaud said.