Concerns about contaminated toys for children being sold in the United surfaced about a year ago. Even though Congress has passed a sweeping overhaul of consumer product-safety regulations, parents and consumer watchdog groups are taking the chemical testing of toys into their own hands.
Toy Lead Scare November 2007
More than 405,000 children's products, many of them toy cars, were recalled on November 7, 2007 because they contained dangerous levels of lead. Most of these were made in China and shipped to the United States in preparation for the Christmas buying season. At that time, no illnesses connected to the recalls had been reported however it is known that lead is toxic if ingested by young children. The recall followed almost weekly announcements in the previous months of lead-contaminated imported products [MSNBC, 11/8/07].
Toy Consumer Watchdog Groups
Toy consumer watchdog groups no longer depend upon the U.S. Government agencies, such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to keep them updated on chemical-laden toys. Individuals are now wielding handheld X-ray guns to test toys – in Walmart to mon-and-pop stores – for unsafe levels of lead and other toxic chemicals such as cadmium and titanium. When advocacy groups send out press releases disclosing their findings, the news appears in newspapers and on televisions and the internet, informing parents and those purchasing toys about their findings [Wall Street Journal, 12/16/08].
The Toy Testing Device
The toy testing device uses X-ray fluorescence (XRF) .
- It is a technology used in various handheld testing guns that can screen for about two dozen elements, such as lead, cadmium and titanium.
- It is battery-powered and when a trigger is pulled, a miniaturized X-ray tube emits rays that strike the toy being sampled.
- The elements in the toy emits return rays with frequencies that indicate which chemicals are present and in what amounts.
It is used by environmental watchdogs groups as well as as an initial tool by the CPSC however the government agency uses a third-party, certified lab for confirmation before regulators are notified.
Toy Industry Complaints about X-ray-gun Testing
The Toy Industry Association (TIA) says that groups such as the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) unnecessarily alarm toy buyers. They maintain that the X-ray-gun testing method can be faulty and unfair. TIA cites cases in which worrisome levels of lead in toys were made known after being tested with a XRF gun. When an independent, certified lab tested the products, they were found to be safe.
The CPSC will continue to study the ability of the XRF device to be used for broader purposes now that the law passed by Congress focuses on lead content instead of just lead paint. Tougher regulations go into effect on Feb. 10, 2009 that set first-time limits on lead and phthalates allowed in children's products. Meanwhile, it remains a case of "buyer beware" because many of the consumer protections do not take place until sometime in 2009.
 |
