Whether from an antique shop or discount store, toxic lead items are easy to buy

Vintage and new items from discount stores may contain lead and can be especially dangerous for children, who often put their hands in their mouths after touching anything within reach. (Brian Munoz and Samantha Horton/Midwest Newsroom)

A vintage military-style trunk she bought at an eastern Michigan flea market when she was a teenager became a staple of Jennifer Poupard's life.

Poupard, now 37, originally bought it to store her CDs. Over the years, the trunk — styled with leather handles and metal buckles — served as a container for shoes, as a coffee table and as a resting place for a record player.