Teen jewelry store Claire's is struggling to compete with stores like Forever 21 that offer jewelry plus clothing. (Photo: Getty Images) 
 
 Corrections and Clarifications: This story has been updated to attribute a portion of the reporting to CNBC 
 
 Claire's, which sells jewelry and accessories targeted to young women, has pulled some of its makeup products off the shelves, due to reports of cancer-producing asbestos. 
 
 Items include the bedazzled rainbow heart makeup set and metallic hot pink glitter makeup. 
 
 The company quietly announced the recall Saturday on its Twitter page, and put out a later statement. "We have taken the precautionary measure of pulling the items in question from sale ... Once we have more information and have the results of the investigation we will take the necessary action. If you have items you wish to return in the interim period we will issue a refund." 
 
 Earlier this year retailer Justice also recalled cosmetics after a Durham, N.C., TV station said the product had toxic substances, including asbestos. 
 
 Exposure to asbestos, once commonly used for building insulation, has been found to lead to certain types of cancers and tumors on internal organs. 
 
 In Providence, R.I., local TV station WPRI reached out to Claire’s after a local law clerk, whose firm specializes in asbestos litigation, has makeup tested from the retailer, and found asbestos. 
 
 “You assume that when you’re purchasing it, it is safe,” Kristiana Warner said. Claire's is based in Pembroke Pines, Fla. 
 
 Claire's hotline is open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. EDT, 800-804-7194. 
 
 The retailer, which was bought by private equity firm Apollo Global Management in 2007, faces a steep debt load, CNBC reported. 
 
 Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2CcN8Sm ||||| Two Delaware teenagers sickened by a banned pesticide that was sprayed at the Caribbean resort where they were staying are still in critical condition more than six weeks later, their family said Monday. 
 
 Sean and Ryan Esmond and their parents fell ill after an applicator working for Terminix used methyl bromide at the resort in the U.S. Virgin Islands. 
 
 The teens are hospitalized in Philadelphia. Their father and mother, Stephen Esmond and Theresa Devine, continue to undergo therapy, said the family's statement, which provided the first update on the family's medical condition in a month. 
 
 "The Esmond Family thanks the nation for its outpouring of support and concern for the family's recovery from this unthinkable tragedy of pesticide poisoning during their family vacation," the statement said. 
 
 The Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Justice and authorities in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are investigating. 
 
 The EPA said in April that its probe had found the toxic pesticide was used at the Sirenusa Condominium Resort in St. John several times in the past and may have improperly been used in Puerto Rico. The agency banned the chemical for residential use in 1984. 
 
 "The family is confident that those responsible will be brought to justice," the Esmonds' statement said. 
 
 Stephen Esmond is head of a private middle school in Wilmington, Delaware, and Devine is a dentist in the Philadelphia suburbs. The family had traveled to the Virgin Islands for vacation with several other families from Wilmington's private Tatnall School. 
 
 Methyl bromide, an odorless and highly toxic gas, can severely damage the lungs and brain. The chemical was applied to a vacant unit directly beneath the Esmonds' unit at the posh resort overlooking Cruz Bay, environmental regulators say. 
 
 The teenagers' prognosis depends on how long they were exposed and how much they breathed in, said Dr. Reynold Panettieri, deputy director of the Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology at the University of Pennsylvania's medical school. 
 
 "The potential for meaningful recovery is still there," Panettieri, who is not involved in the teens' care, said recently. "As you get farther and farther out, the potential for meaningful survival and living independently is going to become less and less likely." 
 
 Terminix, the Memphis, Tennessee-based pest-control firm, said Monday it is cooperating with investigators and conducting its own internal inquiry. The company added it has halted all fumigation operations in the U.S. Virgin Islands and reinforced its policies and procedures with all employees. 
 
 The Virgin Islands' Department of Planning and Natural Resources has suspended the Terminix applicator's license. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writer Ben Fox in Miami contributed to this report. ||||| Play Facebook 
 
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 The toxic chemical that sickened a Delaware family at a Virgin Islands resort last month had been used there other times over the past year, the Environmental Protection Agency said. 
 
 The EPA was notified on March 20 that the family was hospitalized after a fumigation days earlier at Sirenusa Resort in Cruz Bay, St. John. The agency found that the apartment below where the family stayed had been fumigated with methyl bromide. 
 
 An EPA spokeswoman said Thursday that the chemical was also used in other units in October 2014. 
 
 Methyl bromide, an odorless pesticide and neurotoxin, was banned for indoor residential use in 1984 by the EPA, which also holds authority over the U.S. Virgin Islands. 
 
 Initially, the EPA had said methyl bromide had been used in more than one apartment in March. But on Thursday, spokeswoman Mary Mears clarified that it was just one that month. 
 
 Inhaling the chemical can "be fatal or cause serious acute illness or delayed lung or nervous system injury," according to the EPA. 
 
 Stephen Esmond, his wife Theresa Devine, and their two teenage sons were hospitalized in Philadelphia after their exposure. Devine had been discharged as of Monday and Esmond is in stable condition — but the two boys are still in critical condition, a family spokesman told NBC News. 
 
 Methyl bromide was used in a first-floor apartment. Esmond and his family were staying on the second floor of that unit, Enck said. 
 
 Enck said the chemical was used by pest control company Terminix. 
 
 Sea Glass Vacations LLC, the company that manages many of the rental units at Sirenusa, said it was unaware Terminix allegedly used the chemical, and it has cancelled all of its contracts with Terminix. 
 
 The United States Department of Justice has also opened a criminal investigation into the case, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission report filed by ServiceMaster Global Holdings, Inc., the parent company of Terminix. 
 
 "We are sending our thoughts and prayers to the family impacted by this tragic incident, as well as those around them," Sea Glass Vacations said in a statement. "We remain committed to full cooperation with all local and federal authorities currently investigating this matter." 
 
 The company said only one unit was fumigated by Terminix in the recent case. Sea Glass Vacations said Terminix may have used the chemical when fumigating four other units in October. Terminix has been providing pest control at the property since late 2013. Terminix did not respond to a request for comment. 
 
 The EPA is investigating whether there have been any other reports of medical symptoms in the complex over the past year. The Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry is interviewing tourists who stayed in the apartments where methyl bromide was used and interviewing housekeeping staff, Enck said. 
 
 The Department of Justice could bring criminal charges forward if the EPA investigation finds evidence of wrongdoing. 
 
 "The first and top priority is protecting public health," Enck said. "Second is told responsible parties accountable for any violation of environmental laws." 
 
 IN-DEPTH 
 
 — Elizabeth Chuck
– "I physically sank." That was Kristi Warner's response to news that a makeup kit used by her 6-year-old daughter tested positive for asbestos, a finding that has prompted retailer Claire's to pull at least nine products from shelves. As a lawyer at a Rhode Island law firm specializing in asbestos litigation, Warner says she has previously come across "contaminated" cosmetics and decided to check out her own daughter's makeup, purchased from a Claire's store in Providence, per WJAR and USA Today. "You just assume that a children's product would be safe," says Warner. Instead, a North Carolina lab found the product tested positive for tremolite asbestos, as did all 17 makeup products Warner later purchased from Claire's stores in nine states, per WJAR. Exposure to asbestos is linked to certain cancers, including mesothelioma. Though chrysolite asbestos is more common, AsbestosNews.com notes that "tremolite is just as toxic as chrysolite, if not more so," per the Miami Herald. "The fact that the majority of the products came from the store shelves in the last two weeks means that there are other children being exposed," Warner says. An investigation is ongoing, but Claire's has announced it will recall nine products as a "precautionary measure." They include multiple makeup sets, an eye shadow and lip gloss palette, and a glitter cell phone makeup compact. Refunds will be offered on returned items, the retailer says. (Tween retailer Justice had a similar problem.)