1 in 3 toys tested toxic

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http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/03/news/companies/toxic_toys/index.htm?postversion=\

2008120317

One in 3 toys is toxic, group says

Environmental group says many items for sale have high levels of lead, arsenic

and other chemicals..

NEW

YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- One in three toys tested was found to contain

toxic chemicals such as lead, flame retardants and arsenic, according

to a report issued Wednesday by an environmental group.

Researchers

for the Michigan-based Ecology Center tested more than 1,500 popular

toys for lead, cadmium, arsenic, PVC and other harmful chemicals. They

said they found that one-third of the toys contain " medium " or " high "

levels of chemicals of concern.

" Our hope is that by empowering

consumers with this information, manufacturers and lawmakers will feel

the pressure to start phasing out the most harmful substances

immediately, and to change the nation's laws to protect children from

highly toxic chemicals, " said Ecology Center's Jeff Gearhart, who led

the research, in a written release.

The group said it selected

toys and children's products that attempted to represent a cross

section of the most popular items used by U.S. children.

Researchers

bought the toys at chain stores including Target, Kmart, Toys R Us,

Babies R Us, TJ Maxx, and Wal-Mart, as well as drug stores, dollar

stores, on-line retailers and independent toy stores, according to the

HealthyToys.org Web site, where the report was posted.

The toys were purchased at stores in Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, Mich.; Oakland,

Calif.; and Albany, N.Y.

The

group's Web site said that the sampling was not random or intended to

be representative of all toys on the market. The toys were tested using

a handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF) device that uses x-ray fluorescence

spectrometry to detect chemicals like lead, cadmium, chlorine, arsenic,

mercury, tin, and antimony.

A group representing the toy industry was critical of the report.

" The

Toy Industry Association finds the report from Healthytoys.org is

misleading to consumers, at best, " according to a statement on the

company's Web site.

" The truth is toys are a highly

regulated industry that has been subject to even more intense scrutiny

- from industry, retailers, government and consumer organizations - in

the past 18 months, " the association said in its statement. " TIA

members are always working hard to ensure that toys sold in the U.S.

meet or exceed all safety standards - so consumers can be confident in

the safety of toys. "

Gearhart said HealthyToys.org, which he says

is a project of the Ecology Center, encourages retailers to be

responsible in what kinds of products they sell. But he said

manufacturers are ultimately responsible for maintaining the safety

standards of the toys they make.

He said manufacturers should be more aggressive that minimal requirement in

testing toy safety.

" The

manufacturer will test to meet regulatory standards, " said Gearhart.

" Complying with regulatory standards should be the baseline. "

In

February, new regulations from the Consumer Product Safety Commission

will make some of the toys now available for purchase illegal to sell,

according to a press release from the group.

" Many of the

products that are on our high concern list are ones that will have

difficulty complying with the new standards that come into play in

February - but not all of them, because we are looking at more

restrictive screening that what the toy industry does, " said Gearhart.

The

study found lead in 20% of the toys tested. In 3.5% of the toys, or 54

items, levels of lead exceeded the federal recall level for paint, 600

parts-per-million.

The number of toys that showed more than 600

ppm of lead decreased by half from 2007, when 7% of the toys tested

were found to have more than 600 ppm of lead, according to Gearhart.

Also

according to the study, children's jewelry is 5 times more likely to

contain lead above the toxic 600 ppm-level than other toys. In

particular, the report mentioned that several Hannah Montana brand

jewelry items tested high for lead.

The American Academy of

Pediatrics recommends that children's toys have less than 40

parts-per-million of lead. The levels of lead detected in " many " of the

toys was " significantly " above those guidelines, according to the

release.

The study does not associate country of origin with the

presence of toxic chemicals. According to the release, 21% of toys from

China and 16% of toys from all other countries had detectable levels of

lead.

Of the 17 toys made in the United States that were

tested, 35% had detectable levels of lead. A U.S.-made Halloween

pumpkin pin had 190,943 ppm of lead.

The report found that 62%

of the tested products - or 954 items - contain low levels of chemical

concern. And 21% of the products tested - or 324 items - contained no

toxic chemicals to be worried about.

Ecology Center, a

nonprofit group, said the study was conducted with several partners.

The results were posted at HealthyToys.org.

First Published: December 3, 2008: 2:57 PM ET

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