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House Bans Lead, Chemicals From Kids' Toys

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The Associated Press

Published: July 31, 2008

WASHINGTON - Alarmed by a year of recalls targeting millions of tainted toys, the House voted overwhelming Wednesday to ban lead and other dangerous chemicals from items, such as jewelry and rubber ducks, that could end up in children's mouths.

The legislation also would toughen rules for testing children's products and give more muscle to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

"It should be a given that toys are not dangerous," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in welcoming legislation that was lauded by lawmakers and consumer groups as one of the most far-reaching product safety bills in decades.

The bill, a product of House-Senate negotiations, would:

•Impose the toughest lead standards in the world, banning lead beyond minute levels in products for children 12 or younger.

•Ban children's products containing six types of phthalates, which are chemicals that are found in plastics and suspected of posing health risks. They are used to make toys soft and flexible.

•Require third-party testing for many children's products before they are marketed, a key change in monitoring practices after a year in which 45 million toys and children's products - 30 million from China - were recalled.

•Double the budget of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, to $136 million by 2014, and give it authority to monitor testing procedures and impose civil penalties on violators.

The 424-1 vote sends the measure to the Senate, which could approve it before Congress leaves for its August recess at the end of this week. The White House opposes parts of the legislation but has not threatened a veto.

TAINTED PLAYTHINGS

A 2007 Tampa Tribune investigation of children's toys and jewelry sold locally found 38 percent had excessive levels of lead. Six months later, dangerous toys and trinkets were still on area shelves, but a similar test at the time showed fewer products - 5 percent - exceeded safe limits.

Keyword: Lead, to read the Tribune's investigative reports and view items tested. Keyword: Lead, to read the Tribune's investigative reports and view items tested.

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