The holiday season is upon us and just as parents are hitting the stores searching for toys for their kids, new alarming research is out concerning lead in toys. The findings come from The Ecology Center, a Michigan-based nonprofit organization.Today it released its 3rd Annual Consumer Guide to Toxic Chemicals in Toys.
Researchers tested nearly 700 popular 2009 children’s products for lead, cadmium, arsenic, PVC, and other harmful chemicals all in an effort to assist consumers in making better choices for their families this holiday shopping season. The report indicates both good and bad news.
Researchers tested more than 4,000 children’s products over the past three years and found that lead has been steadily decreasing in toys. In fact, the number of products with lead exceeding current federal standards for lead in toys (300 ppm) decreased by 2/3 (67%) since 2007. However, one in three of all toys tested (32%) this holiday season still contained one or more harmful chemical including lead, cadmium, arsenic, and mercury. In addition, 18 percent of the products tested this holiday season (119 of 669) still contained detectable lead, including the Barbie Bike Flair Accessory Kit, Dora the Explorer Activity Tote, and the Kids Poncho from WalMart. PVC, a ‘worst in class’ plastic because of life cycle concerns, is still present in 42% of children’s products.
So despite making some improvements regarding lead and other dangerous chemicals in toys, much more can be done and many manufacturers are finally complying. Many of the products tested in 2009 did not contain any lead, cadmium, arsenic, or mercury, including many made in China. These results show that manufacturers can make toys free of unnecessary toxic chemicals.
As the holiday season approaches, parents, grandparents and anyone buying gifts for children must be diligent in choosing, safe toys for children. This can be accomplished by first doing some research on the toys you plan on buying to make sure they don’t pose a risk.
Attorney Jeffrey Killino’s focus is on keeping kids safe. He is no stranger to toxic toys. In 2007, he filed a class action lawsuit to compel Mattel to provide free testing of all children who played with lead toys.
Child injuries are very serious and can leave a parent feeling helpless. If you believe your child has health problems associated with lead-based toys or other dangerous chemicals found in children’s products, please contact child injury attorney Jeffrey Killino at 877-875-2927 today.
