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Executive Summary
For several years, we have reported that toys are safer than ever before, thanks to decades of work by product safety advocates and parents and the leadership of Congress, state legislatures and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Yet, as many have noted, 2007 has been described as the “year of the recall.” Millions of toys, including famous playthings like Thomas the Tank Engine and Barbie, have been recalled in 2007. Many of these toys have been from leading manufacturers like Mattel, and most were imported from China. Most of the recalls have been for hazards previously identified in this report—excessive levels of toxic lead, dangerous small magnets, and choking dangers.
These troubling events have reminded Americans that no government agency tests toys before they are put on the shelves. These events provide a warning that as parents and other toygivers venture into crowded malls this holiday season, they should remain vigilant about often hidden hazards posed by toys on store shelves.
The dramatic wave of toy, food and other consumer product recalls has spurred intense attention from policymakers to the problems of consumer safety generally and the limits of the long-neglected Consumer Product Safety Commission specifically. The CPSC is the nation’s smallest safety agency, yet it is responsible for 15,000 different products—from chain saws to escalators and from kitchen appliances to toys. Its current actual budget ($63 million) is less than half of what its 1974 startup budget ($34 million) would be today if merely corrected for inflation ($140 million). It has only one toy tester at its decrepit Maryland laboratory; worse, only 15 of 400 total staff (down from a 1980 peak of 978) are on duty full-time as port inspectors. That problem is exacerbated because since the tragedies of September 11, customs inspectors and others that had buttressed this tiny force have been retasked.
In addition to expanding the agency’s budget, policymakers are planning to give the CPSC more tools to hold corporate wrongdoers accountable and speed recalls, to ban toxic lead except in trace amounts and to greatly improve import surveillance.
The holes in the product safety net can, and must be, repaired to restore the confidence of parents and other toygivers that the gifts that they purchase will bring pleasure, not worry.
The 2007 Trouble in Toyland report is the 22nd annual Public Interest
Research Group (PIRG) survey of toy safety. This report provides safety guidelines for parents when purchasing toys for small children and provides examples of toys currently on store shelves that may pose potential safety hazards. We visited numerous toy stores and other retailers to find potentially dangerous toys and identify trends in toy safety. This year, we focused on four categories of toys: toys that may pose choking hazards, magnetic toys, toys that are excessively loud, and toys that contain lead and other potentially toxic chemicals.
Findings
Choking Hazards
Choking on small parts, small balls and balloons remains a leading cause of toy related deaths and injuries. Between 1990 and 2005, at least 166 children died after choking or asphyxiating on a toy or toy part; nine children died in2005 alone. The law bans small parts in toys for children under three and requires a warning label on toys with small parts for children between the ages of three and six.
Although most toys on store shelves are safe, we still found some toys that may pose choking hazards. Specifically:
• We found toys for children under three with small parts and toys with small parts for children under six without the required choke hazard warning label. Balloons, which cause the most choking deaths, are still marketed inappropriately for young children.
• Some toys may pose a choking or suffocation hazard even if they meet the letter of the law. Last year, two small children suffocated when oversized, plastic toy nails sold with a play tool bench became forcefully lodged in their throats.
We recommend making the test for small parts more protective of children under three. CPSC also should consider, at minimum, special labeling for toys shaped like corks or the toy nails, which pose special suffocation risks because of their shape.
Magnetic Toys
Over the last two years, one child died and many others were gravely injured after swallowing tiny but powerful magnets now commonly used in magnetic building toys, other toys and magnetic jewelry. If a child swallows more than one of these magnets, the magnets can attract to each other and cause intestinal perforation or blockage. CPSC should adopt and enforce strong mandatory guidelines for labeling magnetic toys to ensure parents know to seek immediate medical attention if a child swallows magnets.
Loud Toys
Almost 15 percent of children ages 6 to 17 show signs of hearing loss. In November 2003, the American Society for Testing and Materials adopted a voluntary acoustics standard for toys, setting the loudness threshold for most toys at 90 decibels. We found that several toys currently on store shelves may not meet the standards for appropriately loud toys; in fact, several toys we tested exceed 100 decibels when measured at close range.
CPSC should enforce the acoustics standards for loud toys and consider strengthening them to be more protective of children’s hearing.
Lead In Toys
Some toys can pose hidden hazards, exposing children to lead, a dangerous and bio-accumulative linked to lowered IQ, other serious health problems or even death in children exposed to this heavy metal. We found:
• Some children’s toys and jewelry may contain high levels of lead. In one case, we found a piece of jewelry that contained 65% lead by weight. We also found toys that exceeded lead paint standards by 50-500%. CPSC has recalled more than 150 million pieces of lead-laden children’s jewelry since 2004. In 2007, millions of plastic and wooden toys were also recalled for excessive levels of lead paint. Lead has no business in children’s products, whether on paint or coatings or in metal toys, jewelry or other children’s products (vinyl bibs, lunchboxes, etc). Under current CPSC regulations, lead paint is banned at levels greater than 600 parts per million (ppm). When lead is otherwise found in jewelry or toys or children’s products, however, can only be determined to be a “banned hazardous substance” subject to recall if the lead is at high enough levels is also found to be “accessible.” Regulations should simply ban lead except at trace amounts (90-100 ppm), whether in paint, coatings or any toys, jewelry or other products for use by children under 12 years old.
Toxic Chemicals in Toys
• Manufacturers are selling play cosmetic sets that include nail polish containing toxic chemicals, such as toluene and xylene. Since children often put their hands in their mouths, nail polish offers a direct route of exposure. CPSC should team up with the Food and Drug Administration to require manufacturers to stop using toxic chemicals in cosmetics marketed for children.
• This year, we found two toys with phthalate levels that, while less than 1% by weight, contain levels of phthalates that exceed limits allowed by a new
California law scheduled to take effect in 2009.
CPSC should ban phthalates in toys and other products intended for children under five and work with the Federal Trade Commission to ensure that toys labeled “phthalate-free” do not contain phthalates.
Recommendations for Consumers
Be vigilant this holiday season, and remember:
• The CPSC does not test all toys, and not all toys on store shelves meet CPSC standards.
• Our report includes only a sample of potentially hazardous toys. Examine toys carefully for potential dangers before you make a purchase.
• Report unsafe toys or toy-related injuries to the CPSC.
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