Recent Toy Recall Lawsuits

On April 11th, a lawsuit was filed against the CBS Corp, Planet Toy and retailers alleging there was asbestos in CSI Kits that were being sold.

Reebok International agreed to pay a $1 million civil penalty to settle allegations that they sold charm bracelets with excessive levels of lead which resulted in the death of a little girl.

Lead Toys Made for the Mouth of Older Children Recalled

Most parents with children older than pre-school age have ignored many of the lead paint recalls thinking that their children don’t put the toys in their mouth. Unfortunately today, we see why all parents need to pay attention to the recalls. Almost 30,000 “Hillbilly Teeth” sold over the past three years were recalled for excessive lead paint in the teeth. (These are toys obviously put in the child’s mouth.) And Michaels today recalled over 300,000 seasonal writing pens for excessive lead. I don’t know about you but as a child, pre-teen, teenager and sometimes even as an adult, when I am writing I will stop and put the pen in my mouth.

WE ALL NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO TOY RECALLS.

See scrolling pictures on the right side of this blog to see more toy recalls and other child product recalls.

Washington State Children's Safe Product Act

The Washington State Governor recently passed into law the Children’s Safe Product Act which will go into effect in July 2009. This new law requires toy makers to reduce the use of lead to 90 parts per million (a number much lower than the current federal amount of 600). In addition, the law limits the use of lead, cadmium, phthalates and other materials which could affect a variety of children’s products including crib mobiles, toys, and car seats. Under the new law, manufacturers will be required to notify the state regulators if their items contain chemicals of “high concern.” The list of “high concern” chemicals will be generated by the Department of Ecology. It has been estimated that up to 20% of the toys sold in the state could be banned under the new law.

Home Lead Test Kits

Home Lead Test Kits
The other day I saw one of those home lead test kits in the store. With the second recall of 2008 issued this week for excessive lead in children’s toys, I decided to do some research to see if these home kits were worthwhile.

“Useful . . . though limited” is what Consumer Reports said about three of the five testers.

The CPSC study of home lead tests resulted in the following caution : “Consumers should exercise caution when using these test kits to evaluate consumer products for potential lead exposures. False results can make it difficult or impossible for consumers to determine the proper course of action to take. In fact, CPSC staff has tested a number of other samples that had been identified by consumers and others based on their use of inexpensive test kits as having high lead levels. To date, none of these items has actually had high lead levels based on CPSC lab analysis. This is another indication of the poor reliability of the kits for this purpose. Testing by a qualified laboratory and trained personnel is the only way to accurately assess the potential risk posed by a consumer product that may contain lead.”

From a pediatricsblog: “Even if they were reliable, testing toys yourself isn't very practical. Most toys include many pieces or are at least painted with several different colors and you would likely have to test each to be complete. For example, with the Barbie Dream Puppy House that was recalled this year, lead paint was only found on the puppy that was included with the toy. With lead test kits typically costing about $1 a test, it will quickly get expensive to test even just your child's most played with toys. "

Doesn’t look like the home lead test kits are the answer to safety in our children’s toys.