Consumers Respond With Overwhelming Demand for More Information About Chemicals in Toys

HealthyToys.Org Tests More New Toys for Toxic Chemicals and Releases New List of 150 Lead-Free Toys

Popular Toys Containing Lead Remain for Sale, Including a Fisher Price Medical Kit with Very High Lead Levels in Blood Pressure Cuff

 

December 18, 2007

 

After the overwhelming response to the release of www.HealthyToys.org — a holiday shopping guide to toxic chemicals in toys released earlier this month with more than 230,000 visitors — The Ecology Center and The Washington Toxics Coalition (WTC) today announced the results of another 22 popular children's toys and products that were tested for lead and other harmful chemicals. These toys were selected from more than 4,500 toys nominated via the "test my toy" feature on the site, where visitors could vote for toys that had not already been tested.

"The demand from parents for information on which toys are free of lead and other toxic chemicals is overwhelming. Our testing is providing much-needed information that should be coming from manufacturers and the government," said Erika Schreder, staff scientist at WTC.

Toys receiving the most votes were tested by experts at WTC using an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer for evidence of chemicals in the toys, such as lead, cadmium, and arsenic, and chlorine content to determine the presence of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic. The XRF analyzer can only determine the presence of an element, and cannot predict exposure to a chemical of concern. The new results include:

• More than five times the recall standard for lead paint in a plastic cuff sold with the Fisher Price Medical Kit The Fisher Price Medical Kit has already been brought to the attention of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), as its level of lead — 3410ppm — far exceeds the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation that children's products contain no more than 40ppm lead. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan recently successfully forced Fisher-Price to pull the products from stores in Illinois; however, the product continues to be retailed throughout the country. The Medical Kit tested by HealthyToys.org was purchased in Washington State.

The CPSC has not recalled the Medical Kit because the lead standard in federal law is based on how much lead is in paint, not in plastic or the product itself. Fisher Price hasn't voluntarily recalled the Medical Kit, so it remains on store shelves.

"Toy manufacturers are trying to justify the use of lead in toys by claiming it's not a problem unless it migrates from the product into a child. From our perspective, there's no justifying putting known toxics in children's toys. It's not a question of whether chemicals will migrate, it's a question of why lead and toxic chemicals are being used in toys at all. Why take the risk?" said Jeff Gearhart of the Ecology Center.

• Thirteen of the 22 toys and products tested were made with PVC, including American Girl Dolls and Lincoln Log figures. Fifty percent (50%) of toys tested by HealthyToys.org were PVC, which is a concern because PVC may contain phthalates, some of which have been banned from children's products in Europe and California. PVC also creates hazards through its life cycle.

In addition, WTC tested ten children's toothbrushes, which were one of the top items requested by HealthyToy.org site visitors. PVC was detected in four of the toothbrush handles. While most were free of lead, we did detect moderate levels of lead in the handle of an Oral B Stages Power Ranger toothbrush.

HealthyToys.org also released a list of 146 previously tested toys that were found not to contain toxic chemicals of concern that could be identified by the XRF. These results show that manufacturers can make toys free of unnecessary toxic chemicals. See HealthyToys.org Best Toys List

"Children are especially vulnerable to a number of contaminants that have been found in children's toys. Not only are healthy toys important so that children can have joyful and carefree playtimes, but they ensure that children develop into their full potential as productive members of society," said Leo Trasande, MD, a pediatrician and assistant director of the Mt. Sinai Center for Children's Health and the Environment.

The online grassroots organization MomsRising.org has developed a fast and easy way for shoppers to learn if particular toys contain toxins using their cell phones. The group has developed a text messaging system that uses the HealthyToys.org database. Parents can simply text "healthytoys" and the name of a particular toy, a type of toy or a toy manufacturer or retailer to 41411 to find out whether a toy is toxic. MomsRising will respond instantly with a message, based on comprehensive tests of more than 1,200 toys featured at HealthyToys.org. See MomsRising - No Toxic Toys for more information.

Environmental health groups including the Washington Toxics Coalition and Ecology Center are calling for swift action at the state level to fill the gaps in law that are allowing toxic toys to stay on store shelves. HealthyToys.org provides specific guidelines for how to petition state and federal government agencies and toy manufacturers to urge them to phase out toxic chemicals from toys immediately. HealthyToys.org ratings do not provide a measure of health risk or chemical exposure associated with any individual toy or children's product, or any individual element or related chemical. For a full list of toy test results, visit HealthyToys.org.

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For more information, please contact:

Shayna Samuels, 718-541-4785

Ivy Sager-Rosenthal, 206-854-7623

Margie Kelly, 541-344-2282

 

 

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