TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Mattel Told To Get Lead Out

ADVERTISEMENT

The Associated Press

Published: January 31, 2008

LOS ANGELES - Dozens of federal lawmakers are demanding that Mattel Inc., the world's largest toy maker, stop selling toys that contain any amount of lead, claiming the company is not going far enough to address safety concerns.

The demand was contained in a letter released Wednesday by U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat. It was signed by more than 50 fellow lawmakers and sent to Mattel on Tuesday.

The letter was the latest sent to Mattel in recent weeks by Cummings asking Chairman and Chief Executive Robert A. Eckert to completely eliminate the use of lead in toys manufactured by the El Segundo, Calif.-based company.

"We challenge you to ... set a standard for the entire industry by completely eliminating the use of lead in all of the children's products manufactured by Mattel," Cummings wrote.

The lawmakers' scrutiny follows the recall of millions of Chinese-made toys last year by the company because of concerns that lead paint exceeded U.S. standards.

Cummings more recently claimed the company didn't go far enough to address the discovery of "high levels" of lead on a red blood pressure cuff contained in a toy medical kit sold under the Fisher-Price brand, a Mattel unit.

In the latest letter, the lawmaker contended Mattel removed the toy from store shelves in Illinois only after state officials notified the company that tests showed the cuff contained levels of lead exceeding the state's legal limits.

"Illinois has chosen a unique approach," Mattel spokeswoman Lisa Marie Bongiovanni wrote in an e-mail Wednesday, noting that the toy in question met federal and European Union safety standards for lead content.

Shares of Mattel fell 13 cents to $18.94 Wednesday.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT