Hazardous toys are still sold in stores across the country, according
to the 22nd annual toy safety survey released today by the Wisconsin
Public Interest Research Group (WISPIRG).
“While
we have seen progress after more than two decades of advocacy on behalf
of America’s littlest consumers, WISPIRG’s researchers still found
trouble in toyland on store shelves this month,” said WISPIRG’s Cathy
Collentine. “But recent high profile product recalls have given us a
chance to urge Congress to pass strong product safety reforms, and give
kids the best holiday gift of all.”
According
to the most recent data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission
(CPSC), toy-related injuries sent almost 73,000 children under the age
of five to emergency rooms in 2005. Twenty children died from
toy-related injuries that year.
For
22 years, the WISPIRG Trouble in Toyland report has offered safety
guidelines for purchasing toys for small children and provides examples
of toys currently on store shelves that pose potential safety hazards.
WISPIRG’s
2007 research focused on several categories of toy dangers: toys that
pose choking hazards, toys with powerful magnets, toys that contain
lead, and toys that pose strangulation hazards. Most of the recalls
this year have been for hazards identified in previous editions of the
WISPIRG report—small powerful magnets, choking hazards and toys with
excessive levels of toxic lead, Collentine noted.
Among the findings of the 2007 Trouble In Toyland:
Lead
in Toys and Children’s Jewelry: Children exposed to lead can suffer
lowered IQ, delayed mental and physical development and even death. In
2006, a four year old died of lead poisoning after he swallowed a
bracelet charm that contained 99% lead. WISPIRG researchers went to
just a few stores and easily found four children’s toys or jewelry
containing high, actionable levels of lead. One piece of jewelry we
found was 65% lead by weight, or over one thousand times current CPSC
action levels.
“We’ve
known for decades that lead poses serious health risks to children, yet
consumers can still find lead-laden children’s jewelry and lead painted
toys on store shelves,” continued Collentine.
Magnetic
Toys: Toymakers have started using powerful magnets in building toys,
magnetic jewelry and children’s playsets. If a child swallows more than
one magnet, they can attract each other in the body and cause a bowel
obstruction or life-threatening perforation. A 22-month old boy died in
2005 and many others have needed life-saving surgery after swallowing
magnets. This year, the CPSC has recalled popular Mattel toys,
including Barbie and Polly Pockets, for poorly designed magnets that
fall out. Listed in the report are several examples of
sloppily-designed or poorly-labeled magnetic toys found by PIRG
researchers this fall.
“Swallowing a magnet is not like swallowing a penny. Powerful magnets can wreak havoc inside the body,” cautioned Collentine.
Choking
Hazards: In 1979, the CPSC banned the sale of toys for children younger
than three if they contain small parts. The 1994 Child Safety
Protection Act required an explicit choke hazard warning on toys with
small parts for children aged between three and six.
WISPIRG
found toys for children under three with banned small parts and toys
with small parts for children under six without the required choke
hazard warning.
Other toy hazards found this year included toys containing other toxic
chemicals, excessively loud toys, and strangulation hazards.
In
addition, Nan Peterson, Madison Safe Kids Coalition Coordinator, noted
"young children are especially at risk when it comes to toys because
they can easily choke on small toys or even small parts. Many
toy-related injuries occur when parents overestimate their child's
ability to handle a toy designated for an older age group. Parents
should consider whether the toy is appropriate for the child's age and
abilities and whether the gift requires protective gear accessories
such as helmets or knee pads."
“The
Consumer Product Safety Commission, or CPSC, is a little agency with a
big job it simply cannot do,” said Collentine. “Congress needs to give
it the tools it needs to do that big job better.”
Collentine called on Congress to pass the strongest possible product safety reforms under consideration:
•
Congress should ban lead except at trace amounts. The PIRG-backed HR
3691, the SAFE Consumer Product Act, sponsored by Rep. DeLauro (Conn.)
and 150 co-sponsors, including Rep. Kind, would reduce all lead levels
– in paint or in the product -- to the level recommended by the
American Academy of Pediatrics, 40 parts per million or 15 times less
than the current allowable level of 600 ppm.
•
Congress should increase the budget and staffing of CPSC as much as
possible. CPSC has only one toy tester and a tiny force of 15
inspectors to check millions of toys at hundreds of ports of entry.
•
Congress should require companies to guarantee that their products have
been subject to independent third party testing before they put them on
toy store shelves. Congress should also give CPSC more tools to punish
companies that break the law.
“It
doesn’t matter whether a toy is made in China or made in Kansas,” said
Collentine. “Companies need to make sure that it is safe.”
“I
want to assure Wisconsinites that Congress, from the leadership on
down, is focusing on these problems and working on several pieces of
legislation to oversee toy safety and strengthen the effectiveness and
independence of the Consumer Product Safety Commission,” said
Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin who is a co-sponsor of the PIRG-backed SAFE
Consumer Product Act (H.R. 3691) as well as several other pieces of
child safety legislation. “I applaud WISPIRG’s work to arm people with
the information they need to be smart consumers.”
Collentine
also reminded parents that the toy list in the WISPIRG report is only a
sampling of the potential hazards on store shelves.
“Shoppers
should remember that no government agency tests toys. You should
examine all toys carefully for hidden dangers before you make a
purchase this holiday season, and watch for further recalls,”
Collentine concluded.
Download the whole report here.
