As if we didn’t have enough to worry about…
Early this year, news came from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that millions of toys manufactured in China were being recalled due to the presence of lead paint. Suddenly, Dora, Sesame Street, and Thomas the Tank Engine were poisoning our children.
While “American” toys have been made in China for decades, it wasn’t until our pets started dying that officials took notice. That is, products made in China first came under scrutiny after pet food made in China was found to be responsible for the death or injury of tens of thousands of cats and dogs in the United States. Officials began to keep closer tabs on a variety of products and soon stumbled upon a Pandora’s box of lead paint. An internal probe by Fisher-Price is credited for the initial detection.
According to the CDC, lead has been used in two aspects of toy manufacturing: in paint and in plastic. Although the United States banned the use of lead in house paint, products for children, and in dishes or cookware in 1978, lead in paint is still used in many other countries, especially on imported toys. Regarding plastics, the CDC says that use of lead in the creation of plastics has not been banned. It softens the plastic and makes it more flexible, and is used to stabilize molecules from heat.
While toys from China have become the main focus of lead-tainted product recalls, they are not the only concern. The CDC also warns that lead can be found on older toys made in the United States before the 1978 ban, specifically in antique toys and collectibles passed down through generations
Lead is a soft but heavy, blue-gray metal that occurs naturally in the earth’s crust. It is highly toxic to humans, especially young children, with nearly half a million kids living in the United States having blood lead levels high enough to cause irreversible damage to their health. And because lead does not breakdown or decompose, it remains in the environment and can continue to cause health concerns.
The main thing to know is that lead is invisible to the naked eye as well as being odorless. The exposure to children comes from normal hand-to-mouth activity. Since children often place toys, fingers, and other objects in their mouth, becoming exposed to lead paint or dust from a product is of great concern.
According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), children are very vulnerable to lead poisoning, feeling its effects much sooner than adults. Swallowing large amounts may lead to blood anemia, severe stomachache, muscle weakness, and brain damage, and even low levels of exposure can result in detrimental effects upon a child’s mental and physical growth. Lead exposure can affect almost every organ and system in the body, the most susceptible being the central nervous system. The effects are the same whether it is breathed or swallowed and may include decreased reaction time, weakness in fingers, wrists, or ankles, and possible memory impairment.
Much has already been done to fix the problem of lead in toys, and to make sure it doesn’t happen again. This includes: the CPSC ordering the recall of thousands of potentially lead-tainted products; the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) working to establish consistent toy safety testing and inspection procedures for the entire U.S. toy industry, making sure that only accredited labs perform the tests and that they adhere to strict international standards; consumer groups overseeing the toy industry response to the new testing and consumer concerns; and the strengthening of testing protocols and inspections in China for the toys it manufactures.
The recommendation by the ATSDR is that if you have any reason to suspect your child has been exposed to a toy containing lead, remove the toy immediately. While a child with elevated blood lead levels may have no obvious symptoms, a blood test is the only way to be sure. Your health care provider can help you decide if a test is needed and can recommend treatment.
Even though Mattel/Fisher-Price seems to be the most well-known toy manufacturer suffering from the recall, scores of other products under different brand names are also involved. Products, including the wildly popular “Thomas the Tank Engine,” “Dora the Explorer,” “Barbie,” and “Sesame Street” lines, have been affected the most. In addition, non-toy items such as children’s jewelry have been found to contain lead and have suffered recalls. The good news is that because the recall advice was acted on quickly, Fisher-Price was able to stop almost two-thirds of the toys from reaching store shelves.
It also should be noted that even though lead paint on toys is currently receiving the major amount of focus, lead infection danger from lead paint chips in older homes is of even greater concern. Children can swallow this lead paint even more easily than that from the infected toys, and according to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), between 35 million and 40 million homes in the United States still contain some lead paint.
While various government departments and private manufacturers continue to strengthen rules to eliminate the use of lead in any step in the creation of toys, consumers should regularly check for recalls and warnings. As this situation has revealed, even the most trusted names in toys are susceptible to this type of invasion. Web sites, such as SafeToys.com will continue to monitor the progress made and will provide updates as often as they become available.