U.S. Bans Lead in Children’s Toys: Critics Wonder What Took So Long
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
One year after millions of children’s toys and products were recalled for containing excessive amounts of toxic lead, the United States has adopted the toughest standard in the world by banning all but trace amounts of lead in toys.
While consumer rights groups and some of the nation’s largest toy retailers welcomed the new protection, many wondered why it took so long for the government to take action against toxic toys.
About 28,000 deaths each year are linked to unsafe consumer products, including lead-contaminated children’s toys and other products, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. More than 33 million people were injured last year by all consumer products.
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 overwhelmingly passed the U.S. House of Representatives on July 30, 2008 by a vote of 424-1 and the U.S. Senate on July 31, 2008 by a vote of 89-3. President Bush signed the act into law on August 14, 2008.
The law requires toys and infant products for children 12 and younger to be tested for lead before they are sold. The law also bans six types of phthalates, toxic chemicals that are used in plastic products to make them softer and more flexible. Studies have shown that phthalates have been linked to changes in hormone levels and birth defects including genital defects in males. Some scientists believe that phthalates are linked to allergies and asthma in children. Studies of rodents have concluded that phthalates cause damage to the liver and testes.
The law also gives state Attorneys General the authority to enforce federal product safety laws, creates a public database so consumers can learn about hazardous products, and grants whistleblowers new protections.
Embattled Consumer Watchdog Agency Gets Boost
In addition to banning all but trace amounts of lead and phthalates in children’s toys, the new law nearly doubles the budget of the Consumer Product Safety Commission over the next five years. The agency’s annual budget will rise from its current $80 million to $118 million starting in fiscal 2010 and grow further to $136 million over five years. The CPSC has been widely criticized for its handling of recent lead-related recalls of children’s toys. In 2007, concerns about excessive amounts of lead prompted the agency to recall 45 million children’s toys and items, mostly made in China. As the agency was put under public scrutiny, outrage grew over the CPSC’s outdated testing facility in Maryland and the fact that the agency only employed one full-time tester for children’s toys.
According to the Toy Industry Association, of the estimated three billion toys sold each year in the United States, about 80 percent are made or include parts made in China. The emerging global power is therefore responsible for the vast majority of children’s toys and products including lead.
Lead Ban Should Have Come Sooner
Consumer rights organizations were quick to applaud the government’s move to ban lead and phthalates from children’s toys, but some argue that the get-tough stance took too long to come to fruition. Millions of American children were put at risk of life-threatening injuries from toxic toys while the government debated how to craft legislation designed to ban lead and other harmful substances from children’s toys, critics said. Toy industry officials and consumer groups called the government action “long overdue” and “a good start” that should have come 10 years ago, when the dangers of lead in children’s toys first became an issue.
Toy-selling giants Wal-Mart and Toys “R” Us went so far as to develop their own quality-control standards after becoming frustrated with "unworkable and inefficient" state and national guidelines, company officials said. Other toy companies complained that their industry has forever been tainted because of the government’s failure to block toys containing lead from reaching consumers.
Posted under: Defective Products