Toxic Toys In The Toy Box

By Nancy K. Crevier

Dog food, toothpaste, pig feed, jewelry, children’s products, and even car tires, all manufactured in China, have been recalled for safety concerns in 2007. According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, 14 of 23 items recalled just in the month of June were items manufactured in that country. But it is the June 13 recall of approximately 1.5 million wooden Thomas & Friends Railway Toys imported and distributed by RC2 Corporation out of Oak Brook, Ill., that is most troubling to parents and toy importers.

Red and yellow paints applied to pieces made in China between January 2005 and April 2006 contained lead. Twenty-two of the Thomas the Train pieces, including Red James Engine and Red James #5 Coal Tender, Red Musical Caboose, Deluxe Sodor Fire Station, and the Smelting Yard, were among those pieces included in the recall.

“Our biggest disappointment is that here is Thomas the Train, an expensive toy, not some $2 trains from the Christmas Tree Shoppe or somewhere, that has been recalled,” said Jennifer Reilly, the mother of three young boys, Conrad, 8, Daniel, 7, and Zachary, 4.

The Reillys have many pieces for the Thomas the Train & Friends wooden railroad play set, having purchased the miniature train pieces since 2001. “When you put a lot of trust in a company because the plaything they produce inspires fun play for your kids, it is disappointing to see it recalled,” said Ms Reilly. She and her husband, Richard, have decided to be proactive, purchasing a lead test to find out if any of the Thomas the Train pieces, or other toys, they own are sources of toxicity. “Getting things from China, you don’t know what you’re getting. I don’t think the safety standards are as high [as in the US] and things slip through the cracks. It makes me wonder when I go to a dollar store if the things are really safe,” said Ms Reilly. “I try not to buy toys that I can’t be certain about the safety, so this Thomas the Train recall was a big surprise.” She said that she and her husband plan to test toys for lead levels from time to time, just to be on the safe side.

According to the American Academy of Family Physicians at familydoctor.org, young children are apt to place toys and other objects in their mouths, making them more susceptible to lead poisoning. High levels of lead can cause problems with the brain, kidneys, and bone marrow. Even low levels of lead can contribute to problems with paying attention, behavior problems, and other learning issues.

While the popularity of Thomas the Train may make this recall prominent, the recall is just one of many that the US Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued since January 2007. All of the recalls involve toys manufactured in China or Hong Kong, where 80 percent of the world’s toys are now produced, according to the Toy Industry Association (TIA). The toys were recalled for a variety of reasons: choking hazards, lead paint, hazardous materials, laceration and impact hazards, and chemical hazards.

The US toy safety standard limits soluble lead in toys to no more than 90 parts per million and TIA members go above and beyond what federal law requires, adhering to strict lead content guidelines.

In 1994, Congress passed the Child Safety Protection Act that required labels on toys with small parts; a statement on the label if the toy is not for use for children under the age of 3; and that increased the size of small balls permitted in toys, due to choking hazards.

Standards And Testing

At its website, the Toy Industry Association asserts that TIA and member companies insist that toys made in China for export to the US follow US safety standards, are inspected by safety experts in China, and are subject to testing in toy testing laboratories prior to distribution in the United States. Despite this, however, and despite a cooperative effort between China and the United States to improve toy safety standards in China, dangerous toys continue to be manufactured in Chinese factories and imported by US toymakers.

While toys purchased at “dollar stores” can be a source of poisonous playthings, some of the labels associated with recalls so far this year are names that are familiar, and names that parents and children believe they can trust: Graco, Small World, Fisher-Price, and Hasbro. It is true that the majority of the items are voluntarily recalled before any incidences are reported, yet how watchful must caregivers be and how can one discern a “good” toy from one that harbors potential illness or danger?

The Drug Center of Church Hill Road carries a variety of small toys and stuffed animals. They do not directly import any items themselves, but depend upon distributors to supply them with suitable toys. “We try to order from well-known wholesalers,” said manager Cathy Dahlmeyer. “You hope that if you use reputable wholesalers that they are concerned with safety.” By steering clear of Internet offers and sticking with tried and true distributors, Ms Dahlmeyer believes that the Drug Center is able to provide quality products to their customers. “There are a lot of counterfeits out there, even in other products, even in medicines,” she said.

“It is amazing that there is even lead paint in anything. Why is lead paint even made anymore?” asked Pam Davis, owner of Our Green House in Sandy Hook Center. The store carries a full line of organic and environmentally friendly toys. “The stuffed toys are mostly made of cotton grown without sprays or pesticides. I want to make sure that any painted toys are painted with child-safe inks or dyes, because little children put everything in their mouths. That’s just the way they are,” Ms Davis said.

Other than one brand of toy manufactured in China, which Our Green House is phasing out due to customer concerns, most of the toys carried in the store are imported from Germany, Poland, and the Netherlands, or are made in the USA. Our Green House does a big online business, said Ms Davis, and it is her online customers who are seeking to avoid China-made toys. “The toys we carried from there were beautiful, hardwood toys, and none had ever been subject to recall, but our customers are not feeling comfortable with things made in China,” she said.

Not only does Our Green House look for reputable companies from which to order, Ms Davis also inquires as to the source of woods and fibers used in the manufacture of an item and requests information on how a product is tested prior to ordering it for her store. She has also done random testing of toys for lead. “My husband, Mike, owns Willow Environmental and does lead testing in homes, so we have an XRF machine that reads through layers of paint,” Ms Davis said.

Even natural, environmentally friendly toys can pose hazards when in the hands of the wrong age group, though, cautions Ms Davis. “Parents need to be proactive [about what toys they purchase] but you can’t be crazy, either.”

Age Appropriate Toys

Choosing age appropriate toys is the first step caregivers must take when buying toys, is the advice at healthatoz.com. The website also suggests inspecting toys for quality construction and design; make sure parts are securely fastened and that there are no sharp or pointed edges; discard plastic toy wrappers; and purchase only toy boxes with lids that stay open in any position. Consider the noise level of a toy: some have high enough noise levels to cause hearing damage. Toys that shoot small objects risk eye injury, and toys with heating elements are unsuitable for children under the age of 8. Check the electrical connections on any electrical toy. Last, but not least, read the instructions for proper assembly of a product and for proper use.

What Ms Davis said she finds most unfortunate is that parents must rely on the government to ensure that toys and children’s products have been safely made and tested, and that recent recalls seem to indicate that many children’s items slip through any safety barriers. “And with lead paint, that is something parents can’t detect themselves,” she said.