Last year's record recall of 45 million toys spurred an overhaul of federal
consumer protection laws and put "Polly Pocket," "Curious
George" and "SpongeBob SquarePants" in the cross hairs of safety
advocates.
This holiday shopping season, new toy targets are under fire, including
Hasbro's "Littlest Pet Shop," Toysmith's "Silly Fish
Squirters," and Four Seasons General's "Red Plastic Super Car."
The toys, none of which has been recalled, were among six singled out Tuesday
in the Connecticut Public Interest Research Group's 23rd annual toy safety
survey. This year the survey focused on products containing lead or other
toxins, such as the Fish Squirters, a bath toy with levels of certain chemicals
that will soon be prohibited.
The survey, presented at Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford,
warned that new laws adopted by Congress after last year's recalls don't take
effect until February or later and that some hazardous products could legally
remain on store shelves after that.
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act has strengthened lead paint
restrictions, for example, and bans certain children's products with more than
trace amounts of certain phthalates, a family of chemicals used to improve
products' flexibility.
Found in a wide variety of everyday products, from toys to shampoo to medical
supplies, phthalates have been linked to a variety of health problems,
including birth defects, premature delivery and lower sperm count. The new law
will ban the sale of toys containing more than trace amounts of specific
phthalates.
"The dangers of toys are not always obvious," said Dr. Paul Dworkin,
physician-in-chief at the medical center.
But consumer safety advocates are concerned about a recent ruling by the
Consumer Product Safety Commission that says products manufactured before the
law's effective date may be sold until inventory is depleted.
"That's not what the law passed by Congress intended," said Ilicia
Balaban, ConnPIRG's consumer advocate. USPIRG, ConnPIRG's Washington,
D.C.-based parent group, and several attorneys general, including Connecticut's Richard
Blumenthal, plan to challenge the ruling.
The Toy Industry Association issued a statement Tuesday expressing support for
the new laws and said toy makers have "been working year-round to regain
consumer confidence."
Last year, ConnPIRG focused on products that pose a threat of choking. It highlighted
one such item this year, the "Littlest Pet Shop," which bears a
small-parts warning that is too hard to see, according to ConnPIRG.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's website, www.cpsc.gov, contains a list of recalled toys.
