Parents Beware - Many Toys Still Toxic, Hazardous
New Mobile Toy Tool Can Help Parents Shop Safe
WASHINGTON, Nov. 24 � Dangerous or toxic toys can still be found on America's store shelves, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group announced on Tuesday in its 24th annual Trouble in Toyland report.
The latest Trouble in Toyland report, along with a new interactive tool accessible via smart phone or computer � http://toysafety.mobi or http://www.toysafety.net - will help parents and other consumers avoid some common hazards.
And if toy buyers discover they have bought a dangerous toy, they can report it to U.S. PIRG using the new interactive website. Consumers should also report dangerous products to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
"Now parents can shop safely and avoid purchasing potentially dangerous toys for their kids," said U.S. PIRG Public Health Advocate Liz Hitchcock.
"With our new, interactive tool, parents and other consumers can report toys they think are hazardous so we can investigate them and report them to the federal government," Hitchcock added.
Hitchcock released the new report at a Capitol Hill press conference where she and Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Robert Adler ran through some of the progress made, and the steps that still need to be taken, when it comes to keeping America's kids safe.
U.S. PIRG's Hitchcock noted that progress has been made on toy safety in the past year, thanks to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) and new leadership at the CPSC.
"But there's no magic wand to fix the CPSC, and making products safer won't happen overnight," said Hitchcock. "Restoring consumer confidence in the products we buy will take continued hard work on the part of the CPSC and responsible retailers and manufacturers."
The 2009 Trouble in Toyland report � and the interactive website accessible from mobile phone or computer � focus on three categories of toy hazards: toys that may pose choking hazards, toys that are excessively loud, and toys that contain the toxic chemicals lead and phthalates.
The findings in this report highlight the need for continued improvement in order to protect American's children:
- Despite a ban on small parts in toys for children under three, PIRG researchers found toys that pose serious choking hazards. U.S. PIRG's analysis of CPSC recalls and other actions in 2009 showed that these hazards were the cause of more than 5 million products being recalled from store shelves. Between 1990 and 2008, at least 196 children died after choking or asphyxiating on a toy or toy part; three died in 2008 alone.
- Some toys tested exceeded 85 decibels sound level, which is the volume threshold established under American Society for Testing and Materials standards. Almost 15 percent of children aged 6 to 17 show signs of hearing loss.
- Effective February 2009, toys and other children's products containing more than 0.1% of phthalates were banned. Still, PIRG researchers found children's products that contained concentrations of phthalates up to 7.2%.
- Lead has negative health effects on almost every organ and system in the human body. In August 2009, the allowable level of lead in the paint on a children's product was reduced to 90 ppm, and the allowable level of lead in a children's product was reduced to 300ppm. The CPSC has announced recalls and other regulatory actions involving nearly 1.3 million toys and other children's product in 2009 for violations of the lead paint standard. PIRG researchers found three children's toys or jewelry containing high levels of lead or lead paint. U.S. PIRG notified the CPSC in October of one preschool book that contained lead paint at 1900 ppm, or more than 20 times the allowable maximum of 90 ppm.
"We're encouraged that Toys R Us stopped the sale of this particular book after we notified the CPSC of the lead paint violation," noted Hitchcock. "We hope we can continue to see this kind of progress in protecting kids from all toy hazards."
According to the most recent data from the CPSC, toy-related injuries sent more than 82,000 children under the age of five to emergency rooms in 2008. Nineteen children died from toy-related injuries that year.
That's why U.S. PIRG � the federation of State Public Interest Research Groups � developed a new interactive tool � http://toysafety.mobi or http://www.toysafety.net � that allows shoppers to check on possible hazards as they shop, as well as report hazards they find.
U.S. PIRG called for the following:
- CPSC should continue to vigorously enforce the CPSIA's strong protections against toxic lead and phthalates in children's products.
- Congress and the Administration should work to overhaul U.S. toxics policy to begin to assess the thousands of other chemicals currently on the market for which inadequate health data are available, and to require manufacturers to ensure that they are using the least hazardous chemicals possible.
- Congress should fully fund the CPSC's increased budget authorizations for the next five fiscal years, and conduct vigorous oversight over the implementation of the new law.
To download a pdf version of Trouble in Toyland, click here.
U.S. PIRG, the federation of state Public Interest Research Groups, is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest advocacy organization. For more information visit http://www.uspirg.org.
For more on U.S. PIRG's Toy Safety campaign, click here.
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