Trouble in Toyland: Putting children at risk

Herb Weisbaum • Profile • E-mail

There’s trouble in Toyland. Two huge recalls — both involving toys made in China with lead paint — have many parents worried about the safety of the toys they buy. The truth is, they should be concerned.

Unsafe toys have been imported from China for years. But when 1.5 million Thomas & Friends wooden trains and accessories are recalled because of lead paint and a million Fisher-Price toys — including Big Bird, Elmo, and Dora the Explorer — are recalled for the same reason, the problem becomes front page news.

“This is an industry that really needs to get back to quality control and understand the dangers of lead in their products,” says Scott Wolfson, a spokesman for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Children are especially susceptible to lead. Even at low levels it can cause learning disabilities and behavior problems. “These children can lose IQ points,” says Dr. James Roberts, a pediatrician at Medical University of South Carolina. “They can also have attention problems.”

That’s why it’s illegal to use any lead paint on toys sold in this country. The major toy manufactures who have their products made in China specify that lead-free paint is used. But lead paint is still widely available in China and as we’ve seen, Chinese factories sometimes cheat. Using lead paint saves money because it dries faster, which speeds up production. Lead also makes the paint last longer.

Just trying to keep the customer satisfied
Most toys sold in American stores — probably 70 to 80 percent — are now made in China, a country that has been in the news a lot lately because of hazardous products.

Toy companies went to China in order to lower production costs. It was the easiest way to deal with the constant pressure from retailers for lower prices to satisfy today’s bargain-conscious consumer.

By going overseas, American toymakers, “are just not as involved and responsible as they should be in terms of the safety of their products,” says Rachel Weintraub, Director of Product Safety for the Consumer Federation of America.

“There are huge lapses in American manufacturers taking responsibility for every step of their supply chain,” Weintraub says. “And these lapses are putting our children at risk.”

Recalls are no longer the answer
The major toy makers and retailers already have testing and inspection programs in place. In fact, it was in-house testing by Fisher-Price that detected the lead paint on the 83 toys recalled last week. Similar testing by RC2 found the lead paint on the Thomas & Friends toys.

Both companies have vowed to improve their inspection process. In a written statement to msnbc.com, RC2 says it is increasing the scope and frequency of testing for both materials and finished products. The statement says RC2 is now requiring test reports on every batch of paint.

Keep on top of toy recalls There are so many recalls, it’s impossible for to hear about them all. Most small recalls are not widely covered by the news media. Here’s how to stay in the loop. Sign up for toy safety alerts and recall notices at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx. You can also sign up for recalls and alerts from all federal agencies at www.recalls.gov .

The toy industry knows it has a problem and promises to fix it. Joan Lawrence, Vice President of Standards and Regulatory Affairs at the Toy Industry Association, tells me they are looking at various ways to beef up the safety system. “Some changes will be implemented very quickly and more will be in place by the holiday shopping season,” she says.

Most of the toys on the market are safe. Critics say that’s not good enough.

There have been 33 toy recalls so far this year. Every one of these hazardous toys was made in China.

Consumer groups want a comprehensive system that detects dangerous toys before they can come into the country. This would include:

• Pre-shipment inspection and testing: They believe importers, distributors, and retailers should be held accountable for the toys they sell. “The recent lead recalls show that there is not adequate testing,” says Consumer Federation of America’s Rachel Weintraub.
• Third-party certification program: Consumer groups envision an organization for toys similar to what Underwriters Laboratories is for electrical equipment. Toys that passed the test would have a certification seal on the package. The Toy Industry Association supports this idea. “It’s one thing to make a toy safe, but if consumers don’t know it’s safe you haven’t done the whole job,” says TIA’s Joan Lawrence.
• More funding for the CPSA: The Consumer Product Safety Commission has been widely criticized for not being more proactive in finding problems. But this is a small agency — just 400 people — with a small budget. “It is impossible at that staffing level to work the ports to prevent unsafe products from coming into the ports,” says Don Mays of Consumers Union. The toy industry not only wants Congress to give the safety commission more money, it wants to see the agency have more authority. CPSC inspectors are not allowed to inspect foreign factories as the Food and Drug Administration is allowed to do. CPSC is limited to surveillance at U.S. ports and warehouses and reacting to problems once a dangerous product is on the market.

The bottom line
You don’t have to be a brain surgeon to realize we’re got a problem here – lead paint on toys made in China. So let’s fix it. Until China proves it is capable of playing by the rules, we need to test and retest.

There must be a system created to catch dangerous products before they come into our homes. Parents cannot spot dangerous toys on the store shelf and they should not have to worry that a toy they give their child will poison them.

Congress, which has been slashing the CPSC's budget for years, needs to wake up and step up to the plate. The CPSC needs more money and more personnel to do the job the American public expects it to do.

A bill introduced last month by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill) and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla) would get things going in the right direction. It would require third party testing of all toys — imported and domestic — made for children age 5 and younger.

“How many more deadly toys do we have to recall before Washington responds?” Durbin said in a written statement. “American families should not be playing Chinese Roulette at the toy store.”

More information

• CPSC: Toy Hazard Recalls
• Toy Recall: What Parents Should Know
• Consumers Union: 8-point plan to police hazardous imports
• Legislation introduced to strengthen consumer protection
• EPA: Lead in Toy Jewelry

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