Lead Found in Toys, Backpacks in US Stores

[Bianca]

                                Lead found in toys, backpacks in U.S. stores
 





WASHINGTON (Reuters) -

A Curious George doll bought at Toys "R" Us was found to be tainted with 10 times the legally-allowed lead level, and vinyl lunch boxes and backpacks also had high amounts of lead, the nonprofit group Center for Environmental Health said on Wednesday.
 
The Curious George doll found with high amounts of lead was made by Marvel Entertainment Group Inc, the Oakland, California-based group said in a statement. A Marvel spokesman said he was unaware of the advocacy group's finding and had no immediate comment.

Millions of toys made in China have been recalled over the last three months due to unsafe levels of lead paint, which is toxic and can pose serious health risks, including brain damage, in children.

The Center for Environmental Health also said it found high lead levels in vinyl lunch boxes and backpacks made by Sassafras Enterprises of Chicago.

The group filed a legal notice accusing privately-owned Sassafras of violating a 1986 California law that prohibits exposing consumers to carcinogens without warning.

A spokeswoman for Sassafras said the company tests its products for lead and that she was unaware of the group's statement.

The advocacy group also notified 10 retail store chains that they were selling toys with excessive lead in violation of the California law.

The stores were Toys "R" Us, Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Kmart, Sears, KB Toys, Target, RC2 Corp, Michael's Stores Inc, Costco Wholesale Corp and Kids II Inc.

Michael Green, executive director of the center, said the legal notices were the first step in potential lawsuits against the companies.

"We want companies to test for lead before selling these items," Green said. "The federal government isn't doing its job."

Democrats in the U.S. Senate and House this month introduced legislation that would virtually ban lead from toys and other goods used by children younger than six. Lawmakers have criticized the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission for not doing enough to protect children from excessive lead.

The Center for Environmental Health took similar action when it found unsafe levels of lead in vinyl bibs at Wal-Mart and Toys "R" Us stores in California, which resulted in both retailers pulling all vinyl bibs from their shelves nationwide, Green said.

Toys "R" Us is owned by a consortium that includes Bain Capital Partners LLC, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and Vornado Realty Trust.



(Reporting by Julie Vorman, editing by Brian Moss)

[Bianca]

                                      Greed and inefficiency trump product safety





Published: October 10, 2007

Most consumers still believe that if a product is on the shelf of a reliable store like Home Depot, somebody has tested it and proved it safe. At the least, they assume they would have heard about any dangers, the way they know about toxic substances in Chinese toys and toothpaste. But as Eric Lipton reported in the International Herald Tribune and The New York Times this week, that can be a dangerous assumption to make.

One harrowing example of a hazardous product is Stand 'n Seal, a spray designed to waterproof tiles and then "evaporate harmlessly." At least two people died and 80 were sickened or hospitalized after using it in 2005. Yet more than two years after such reactions were reported to the manufacturer, to the stores that carried the product and to the federal government, some cans of the hazardous spray were still being sold to unwitting customers.

The federal watchdog designated to protect buyers from this sort of danger is the Consumer Product Safety Commission, or what is left of it. Under the Bush administration's ideological drive to weaken agencies that regulate business, the commission has been "hollowed out," in the favorite Washington phrase, to less than half its former strength. Its staff, which was 978 strong in its heyday, now numbers only 401. It has outdated laboratory equipment, and in another sign of neglect, the Bush administration has failed for months to appoint one of the commissioners.

The Stand 'n Seal case makes it clear that the safety commission is increasingly unable to protect consumers quickly. Since no pre-market testing is required, companies are allowed to decide whether their own products are safe. They are required to report possible hazards or problems within 24 hours to the commission. In the case of Stand 'n Seal, it took three months from the time the company first received an alarming report of how its product affected customers until the commission finally issued a formal recall. Even after the recall, some of the cans were still on shelves as late as spring 2007.

Consumers deserve better. There needs to be a more effective way to report when there are problems with a product, and the commission should be required to make the complaints available to the public as they come in. Once the commission decides on a recall, the company should be required to advertise to let consumers know. The commission should also be able to levy bigger fines on manufacturers, and selling these goods should be illegal.

 Congress has finally begun to recognize that the Consumer Product Safety Commission is yet another federal agency that has been stripped of its powers to protect the public. Senator Mark Pryor, an Arkansas Democrat, is among those pushing to rebuild the agency, a few million dollars at a time. He, and others in Congress, should keep pushing. When greed or inefficiency trumps safety, consumers need a muscular Consumer Product Safety Commission to fight back.


http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/10/10/news/edconsumer.php?WT.mc_id=rssopinion