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In a wise move today, Governor Eliot Spitzer announced a statewide recall of all unsafe toys.
From the press release:
Governor Eliot Spitzer today announced that the state Consumer Protection Board's (CPB) Safe Toys NY Campaign found that toys with unsafe lead levels remain on store shelves across the state. The findings resulted from the Governor's call for a statewide investigation of toys being sold in New York and revealed retail practices are in need of improvement in order to protect consumers. While inspections found increased compliance with recall requirements, toys with unsafe lead levels were still being sold. The Governor is also calling on the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to immediately issue a national recall of newly identified products found during investigations and is calling for the CPB to draft legislation to create and improve standards in the industry and better inform and protect consumers.
"It is startling to learn that tainted toys are still lingering on our shelves," said Governor Spitzer. "I am calling on retailers to ensure that dangerous toys are removed from store shelves, and am strongly urging the CPSC to issue an immediate national recall of the products we identified, so that all kids can be protected and consumers can have confidence in the toys they purchase. The federal government, through the CPSC, has the responsibility to protect the public from unsafe toys, but a lack of funds and inadequate staffing hamper their ability to act in a timely manner. That leaves us with no choice but to act on our own to protect New Yorkers as soon as we become aware of a safety hazard, in this case, lead paint on toys."
Yesterday, I just happened to be in Wal-Mart (only department store in Orleans County) when I thought I would wander over to the toy aisle and see what the shelves looked like. The shelves were still packed. What's worse, apparently they will tell you if something has been recalled but they won't take it off the shelf.
And if the general thought of lead in your kids' toys doesn't scare you, maybe listing specific toys will get your attention:
In addition, following strict protocols, a random sampling of toys was collected in three rounds from retail outlets in Albany and in New York City and tested by DOH's Wadsworth Center. The Center performed chemical analysis of the paint from each toy for lead content. The CPB was then able to track distributor information so that the appropriate actions could be taken.
The three tainted toys, all bought in dollar stores and made in China, had paint that exceeded the federal standard of lead levels allowed in paint, which is 600 parts per million (0.06 wt% lead). The three toys are:
"Army Force" Car Set, which are green and black, Lot # ES35146, UPC Code 6010785146, and are imported by Encore Sales, Concord, Ontario, Canada;
"Sprite Tractor Trailer" toys, which are green and orange and have no identifying information on the packaging; and
"Wrestle Mania" action figures, which are multicolored and distributed by AA of America from New Jersey.
The toys also had no identification numbers on the packaging.
Here in Orleans County, we lost Fisher Price/Mattel a decade ago when they left for Mexico. Of course, the excuses revolved around cheaper labor, cheaper cost of production, cheaper taxes. In other words, cheap labor = cheap production = a cheap PRODUCT.
I think if you asked people now, they would spend, say, $1.50 on their toy car to make sure it was American made and lead-free compared to $.97 for that same toy car that could have enough lead to kill your child.
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