Action by an alert Health Department employee visiting a gift shop at Fletcher Allen Heath Care has triggered a state attorney general's investigation into a line of children's jewelry with potentially high lead levels.

Mike Sullivan of Fairfax, an employee of the department's health protection division, said a moment of "whimsy" on his part led him to examine some small metal charms at the gift shop last month while in the hospital on personal business.

"I'd taken a couple of the charms off the rack to look them over and they seemed, for their size, quite heavy," he said. "Afterward, I started thinking about the possibility of them having lead content."

Days later, Sullivan went back to the shop, bought two of the charms and had them tested for lead. He said one of the charms, formed in the shape of a calculator, was found to have a high lead reading.

Friday, as a result of Sullivan's actions, the Attorney General's Office issued a new warning about the dangers of lead in children's jewelry after a laboratory test found that the charm Sullivan purchased contained 92 times the maximum set by the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Assistant Attorney General Elliot Burg said he does not know how many other stores in the state may be selling the same or similar products. "It's very difficult to tell how many items like this are out there," Burg said.

The charms and children's jewelry products with lead content become dangerous for young children if they put the items in their mouths or chew on them. Lead poisoning can cause a decrease in IQ level, especially if ingested by children younger than 6.

Mike Noble, a hospital spokesman, said Friday the gift shop had removed the line of charms and all similar items that could pose a health hazard. He said anyone who purchased charms like the one Sullivan bought could come into the store for a refund.

Sullivan said the charms he bought had no identifying brand name or description of where they were manufactured. Noble said the products were distributed by Ganz Inc., based in Cheektowaga, N.Y., near Buffalo, and were made in China.

Ganz's Web site said the company sells gifts and accessories to 30,000 stores in the United States and Canada. Company spokeswoman Susan McVeigh, contacted Friday, said she was unaware of any problems with its children's jewelry.

"This is the first I've heard about this," McVeigh said.

Concern about lead content in items made in China and designed for children has been increasing recently.

Last week, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the voluntary recall of 20,000 Essentials for Kids Jewelry Sets after high lead content was found. Last month, 1.5 million Thomas & Friends wooden train sets were recalled after high lead levels were found in the painted train pieces.

Since 2003, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has conducted 30 recalls involving bracelets, necklaces and other jewelry sold for children because of high lead content. All but three of the recalls involved products made in China.