It seems that every day arrives with another news story about more toys being pulled from stores' shelves due to toxic levels of lead or other chemicals.  Amidst the chaotic environment of a constant flood of new hazards, multiple options for do-it-yourself lead-test kits, and confusing or unknown standards for lead-levels in toys, it sometimes seems impossible to keep track of everything and know exactly which products should be avoided to keep children away from lead hazards.

 HealthyToys.org is a new resource devoted to simplifying the hazardous toy issue with a user-friendly interface designed to keep you informed.  Some helpful features of the site include:

• The Product Action Guide, allowing you to search across a toy database, stratified by name, brand, or type
• A Chemicals of Concern page, including hazards in toys presented by lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and chlorine (PVC)
• Findings data from a widespread testing procedure; over 1,200 children's products and more than 3,000 components of those products were tested

PLEASE NOTE: while this site is helpful, the methods used to test toys by HealthyToys.org do have some limitations.  For example, only one toy was tested in order to determine a product's safety, an assumption that ignores the potential for product batch variations.  In other words, different batches of the same toy might vary quite radically from the single toy tested by HealthyToys.org, meaning their "safety" conclusions are not necessarily true across the board.  Also, the XRF ray-gun technology used to test the toys comes with limitations, often presenting false negatives.  XRF testing sometimes misses lead when it is actually present on a toy, meaning some of the "safe" toys might actually still have lead.

 The National Center for Healthy Housing has released two helpful and informative "Fact Sheets" regarding the lead-hazards in toys, jewelry, and other household items.

• Learn about the various options available for testing your own household items to deny or confirm the presence of lead with the "Testing for Lead In Consumer Items" fact sheet
• Read about how lead gets into toys in the first place, and how children can ingest this toxin during normal play with the "Toys and Childhood Lead Exposure" fact sheet

 To keep up to date with the latest toy, jewelry, and other product recalls due to lead hazards, visit the Consumer Products Safety Commission's (CPSC) comprehensive recall list:

• Recalls: All Toy Recalls

 For a recall list more specifically concered with lead in toys, visit the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) "All Lead Recalls Page:"

• Recalls: All Lead Recalls

 Local Coverage of the Lead-Toy Issue in Rhode Island

• The Providence Journal recently published an article concerning the lead-toy issue.  Read "There's 'Trouble in Toyland'" to learn more about, RIPIRG, a local organization dedicated to seeing the CPSC's regulatory powers strengthened.
• Review WPRI Eyewitness News's November 24th report on testing toys for lead lead here.

 Sierra Club Targets Cumberland Toy Importer "RI Novelty," Among Others, in the Next Step Towards Protecting Kids from Lead Poisoning

The Sierra Club's latest actions have identified 10 companies as on notice for failing to notify the EPA of health risks associated with their products. Nearly 30 recalls of lead tainted children’s products have occurred this year alone.  In most cases the recalled products have been poorlymanufactured toys imported from China.  The Sierra Club's actions against RI Novelty and the other importers will help protect U.S. children from further potential hazards by ensuring the product-screening laws protecting our children are adequately enforced.

Read the Sierra Club's Notice Letter to Rhode Island Novelty here.
July 25, 2007

 

Read the Consumer Product Safety Commission's recall notices concerning RI Novelty products below:

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