September 5th, 2007

"Third Recall of Mattel Toys This Summer"

In its third recall issued this summer, Mattel is asking consumers to beware of excessive amounts of lead paint in nearly 800,000 toys including Barbie accessories, Geo Trax locomotive toys and Big Big World 6-in1 Bongo Band toys.

Last month, the toy giant issued two separate recalls—the first involved 1.5 million toys, and the second included 18 million toys. Both were worldwide recalls, but more than one million of the toys were sold in the United States.

Dangerous of Levels of Lead

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the products contained excessive amounts of lead. Lead exposure and poisoning are associated with a number of adverse health effects in children, such as behavioral problems and developmental delays.

CPSC spokeswoman Julie Vallese said the toys are small and “don’t pose a lead poisoning risk in themselves.” She emphasized, however, the importance of removing lead from “a child’s environment each and every time you can” since its effects are cumulative.

A Growing Problem

Sixty five percent of Mattel’s toys and 80 percent of all toys sold in the U.S. are manufactured in China, but the growing number of recalls involving products imported from China have raised serious concerns among U.S. lawmakers and consumers.

“It’s clear that our consumer product safety net has a hole in it the size of China. While these recalls are an important step to pull thousands of unsafe toys from the shelves, I remain concerned that many more harmful children’s products may be proliferating in the marketplace without parents knowing the dangers,” said Rep. Edward J. Markey.

More Recalls Expected

Both Mattel and the CPSC are continuing investigations into lead levels into children’s toys and further recalls are expected. The most recent recalls include:

• 675,000 Barbie accessories
• 90,000 Geo Trax locomotive toys
• 8,900 Big Big World 6-in-1 Bongo Band toys
• 900,000 toys including Dora the Explorer, Big Bird and Elmo figures
• 200,000 toys related to the movie “Cars”

(Source: Washington Post online)

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