Nov 20, 2007 4:28 pm US/Central
Toy Safety Plagues Parents This Holiday Season
Recalled And Unsafe Toys Still Available Online
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
Trips to the store aren't going to be easy for parents shopping for toys this year after a string of disturbing recalls and safety alerts. As CBS 2's Derrick Blakley reports, some of the most hazardous toys could still show up under the tree.
Curious George may look cuddly, but his face contains five times the legal standard for lead. The toy has been recalled, but researchers were still able to buy it online. A jeweled zipper pull, bought in a dollar store, proved even more deadly: 1,000 times the legal standard for lead. And two boys died after swallowing bolts from a toy tool set.
Those are just some of dangers highlighted in the Public Interest Research Group's annual report: "Trouble in Toyland."
"Honestly, you don't know what toys are safe and what toys are not," said parent Rosa Rivera.
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin expressed similar concern.
"I don't know where to turn," Durbin said. "Things that look so harmless and innocent could be lethal, absolutely lethal."
It's an issue that's exploded this year, with 200 million toys recalled, most made in China.
"Also, you can't rely on the label, as you once did," said Brian Immus of Illinois PIRG. "Recalls in the last year are from name brand manufacturers, like Mattel."
President George Bush's point-person on the safety of imports was in Chicago Tuesday. He wants foreign-made toys tested, especially for lead, in approved labs before they're imported.
"If they look at it and certify it's safe, we're prepared to treat that as a product that's' safe," said Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt. "On the other hand, if it turns out not to be, we'll have very serious sanctions."
But lawmakers want to beef up the feeble consumer product safety commission, which has just one researcher to test all the toys sold in America.
But until then, Illinois Rep. Bobby Rush said, "If you see a toy that's made in China, I would be very cautious about purchasing that toy."
But with 80 percent of all toys sold in the U.S. made in China, that rules out a lot of products.
Two things to watch out for are children's jewelry – 50 percent of it exceeds standards for lead content; and toys with small magnetic parts, which can be deadly if swallowed.
Click here for more on toy safety and to read the full PIRG report.
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