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HealthyToys.org Announces Annual Consumer Guide to Toxic Chemicals in Toys
Emily Lynne Ion
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
The Ecology Center, a Michigan-based nonprofit organization, and partners across the country today released the 2nd annual consumer guide to toxic chemicals in toys at www.HealthyToys.org. Researchers tested over 1,500 popular children’s toys for lead, cadmium, arsenic, PVC and other harmful chemicals in time for this year’s holiday shopping season. One in three toys tested were found to contain “medium” or “high” levels of chemicals of concern.
Lead was detected in 20% of the toys tested this year. In fact, lead levels in some of the products were well above the 600 parts-per-million (ppm) federal recall standard used for lead paint, and will exceed the U.S. legal limit in February, according to the new Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) regulations. Levels of lead in many toys were significantly above the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended ceiling of 40 ppm of lead in children’s products. Children’s jewelry remains the most contaminated product category, maintaining its spot at the top of HealthyToys.org’s “worst” list.
The CPSC regulations, which go into effect in February 2009, would make certain products on the shelf this holiday season illegal to sell two months from now. Experts insist that these new regulations, while a good first step, do not go nearly far enough to protect our children.
"Lead and other toxic materials should have have no place in children's toys," says environmental health expert Dr. Philip Landrigan, of Mount Sinai Medical School. "Safer substitutes for lead exist. Even small amounts of lead can cause brain injury to children. The claim that some lead in toys is not accessible to children is false and dangerous. Children are ingenious. Children are rough on their toys. Children constantly put their toys in their mouths. Any lead in any form that is in a toy can get into a child. Once it is in a child, this lead can cause harm."
“There is simply no place for toxic chemicals in children’s toys,” said Ecology Center’s Jeff Gearhart, who led the research. “Our hope is that by empowering consumers with this information, manufacturers and lawmakers will feel the pressure to start phasing out the most harmful substances immediately, and to change the nation’s laws to protect children from highly toxic chemicals.”
In addition to allowing parents to search by product name, brand, or toy type to see if certain toys have toxic chemicals, the newly-redesigned site also allows visitors to create a personalized holiday wish list that can be sent to family and friends, and a blog-friendly widget to quickly search the toy ratings. Before you purchase gifts for your little ones, take a moment to use this informative tool and find out all you can about children's toys on the market.
Get involved! Petitiion the government and toy manufacturers to make toys safe for children! Click here to sign a federal petition, and click here to sign one addressing the toy manufacturers.
Posted by andrey on 12/11 at 04:29 PM
Nice post!
Posted by Digitale Signatur on 12/09 at 07:35 PM
Thanks for the information. Now I have an idea on what gift will I give to my baby cousins.