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Parents' Wish List: Safer Toys

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By MARY SHEDDEN

mshedden@tampatrib.com

Published: November 30, 2008

TAMPA - One thing on Monica Chandler's "must have" list this Christmas: a healthy dose of skepticism.

Last year, the Tampa mother ordered handmade toys from Germany to avoid exposing her children to American imports containing toxic lead. Her careful strategy didn't work: The toys arrived bearing "Made in China" stickers.

Chandler remains wary about toy safety in 2008. It's not enough that Congress recently passed new federal children's product laws, or that major toy makers revamped manufacturing procedures after millions of toys and trinkets were recalled leading up to last year's holiday shopping season. She will check labels and toy recall lists again this year.

"I'm never going to take anyone's word that a toy is safe for my child," she said.

That continuing skepticism is warranted this holiday season. Serious problems remain:

•The number of lead-related recalls dropped from 112 in 2007 to 64 this year. But millions of products - from girls necklace sets to toy boats to Tinker Bell wands - continue to be recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

•The tough new safety standards were signed into law in August. But the heart of the law doesn't go into place until February and next August.

•Although retailers and major toy makers have increased their own policing of the issue, an ongoing Tampa Tribune investigation continues to find trinkets containing excessive levels of lead available on local store shelves.

Jeff Weidenhamer, a professor at Ohio's Ashland University whose lead testing triggered a number of government recalls, said consumers have every right to be concerned. Just last month, his testing led to the recall of 14,000 Casper the Friendly Ghost Halloween figurines decorated with lead paint.

"There is still a lot of stuff out there, not the brand-name products, but very cheap items out there that are not being checked," he said.

Lead is a toxic metal that in even minute levels contributes to neurological and behavioral disorders. It has been banned in paint sold in the United States for decades. But lax oversight by an understaffed safety commission failed to stop a flood of unregulated imports from entering the country, mainly from Chinese factories. That was until consumers and watchdog groups urged tougher standards.

Since then, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has instituted new procedures, including an inspection program at U.S. ports. Safety commission Chairwoman Nancy Nord said 238 shipments of unsafe toys have been stopped as a result.

Most importantly, the Consumer Product Safety Act of 2008 mandates stricter bans on products containing lead or lead-based paints. It requires third-party testing on new products and will establish and phase in acceptable amounts of lead content. Lead-based paint standards also will be tightened.

The phasing in of the new standards, however, won't begin until Feb. 10. Some standards will not go into effect until August.

It is unfortunate the rules won't apply until months after Christmas, said U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, who has been active in creating the legislation. She has a warning for consumers.

"It doesn't mean all the toys on the shelf this holiday season are safe," Castor said. "Parents must remain diligent and concerned, especially in a season when we are looking for bargains."

Jewelry Likely Lead Source

The increased attention to toy safety is reflected in random product testing the Tribune conducted over the past year through an independent lab. The third-party lab is one used by the Hillsborough County Health Department.

Three times since June 2007, randomly purchased toys and trinkets have been tested using atomic absorption, one of the methods safety commission inspectors employ as part of a voluntary recall testing process. Each time, products containing more than 0.06 percent lead - the current standard for lead paint on toys - have been found.

All of the products were made in China, the nation associated with most of the previous recalls.

The first Tribune investigation, in June 2007, found that 38 percent of 50 items bought locally contained excessive levels of lead. Another review in December revealed that 5 percent of 40 products surpassed acceptable levels.

The latest tests found 5 percent in violation of the current standards. The 10 toys and 10 pieces of inexpensive jewelry were purchased Oct. 31 at five Tampa retailers. Tests found that nearly all contained at least a trace of lead. One - a $3 necklace purchased at a South Tampa Big Lots - was found to contain 50 times the acceptable level.

Officials with Big Lots did not reply to requests for an interview.

Weidenhamer said jewelry remains a likely source of lead, a cheap bonding agent. He found that three of six inexpensive Halloween trinkets he tested were toxic. One contained 85 percent lead.

These findings are worrisome for children and adults who wear inexpensive trinkets. Children are as likely to place mom's pendant or key chain in their mouths as they are to teethe on painted toys. Lead poisoning occurs when a child ingests even a tiny amount of the toxin.

"Clearly the recall system as it is right now has not prevented items like that from getting on the shelf, and that's unfortunate," he said.

Major Manufacturers Respond

Toy makers and retail stores didn't wait for Washington to change toy safety rules. They saw millions of the estimated 3 billion toys they sell each year recalled and needed to respond to an increasingly cynical consumer base. St. Petersburg shopper Amy O'Dell is one example.

"I'm trying to be wise and get things I don't think will get recalled," said the mother of two children, ages 5 and 7. "The things I'm not as familiar with, I'm hesitant to buy them."

Store inventories have changed. Inexpensive trinkets aimed at young girls are harder to find at stores such as Big Lots and Family Dollar. Companies such as Mattel, stung by the 2007 recall of 675,000 Barbie products, have increased inspections of Chinese factories.

The result of these changes is that lead paint is scarce in toys from major manufacturers, Weidenhamer said.

"You can be fairly confident if you are buying Mattel or Hasbro, they will be OK," he said. "However, if you're buying things secondhand or on eBay ... you have to be more careful."

The self-policing doesn't mean toy makers are enthusiastic about the changes. If anything, companies are feeling overwhelmed by the incoming standards.

The Toy Industry Association and the American National Standards Institute recently established a comprehensive Web site to help toy makers remain compliant through the onslaught of new rules. Eventually, www.toycertification .org will help consumers check a database to see whether a new toy has been tested and certified as safe, according to program director Elizabeth Borrelli. That could happen by mid-2009.

In the meantime, this year's holiday outlook is dismal. Overall, holiday spending is expected to increase 2.2 percent, to $470.4 billion. That's the slowest pace since 2002 and far below the 10-year average of 4.4 percent holiday sales growth, reports the National Retail Federation.

An estimated 37 percent of U.S. households plan to decrease their holiday spending, reports the annual International Council of Shopping Centers' holiday economic survey. Skeptical consumers plan to spend $533 on gifts this year.

O'Dell understands those who say they plan to spend less. She's a college student, and her husband has seen his hours working as a land surveyor cut. She says it's a tightrope walk to make sure what she buys gives her peace of mind.

"You try to balance the safety, but not break the pocketbook."

Reporter Mary Shedden can be reached at (813) 259-7365.

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