Nov. 23, 1999 (Washington) -- Well-meaning Santas may inadvertently be putti
Nov. 23, 1999 (Washington) -- Well-meaning Santas may inadvertently be putting toys in Christmas stocking that can cause injury or death, according to a consumer advocacy group which does an annual survey of products on holiday shelves. The U.S. Public Interest Group (PIRG) says that despite the federal Child Safety Protection Act of 1994, dangerous toys are still available in stores across the U.S.
Of particular concern, says PIRG staff attorney Rachel Weintraub, is the risk of choking -- the cause of most of last year's 14 toy-related deaths. "The good news is that we found the majority of toys [had] the choke hazard warning, as mandated by the 1994 law. This will help prevent future deaths ... but we caution parents to remember that the government does not test all toys," Weintraub said at a Capitol Hill news conference Tuesday. Toys caused an estimated 150,000 visits to the emergency room last year.
PIRG's report, titled "Trouble in Toyland," finds that "stores continue to carry numerous potentially dangerous toys." PIRG says it identified 34 potentially hazardous toys, including a doll with tiny shoes but no choke warning. The survey also found balls so small they failed the choking safety standard.
Some toys, says PIRG, passed muster, but just barely, like a plastic crane with little road cones that almost dropped through a tube used to detect parts considered too small to be safe for kids younger than three years old. Weintraub says the circumference of a bathroom tissue tube is a good guide for appropriate toy part size.
"Balloons are the leading toy killer," Weintraub says, claiming that in the last decade, 52 children have choked on balloons or parts of balloons. "We have balloons without any warning sold individually in bins."
PIRG also warns consumers about polyvinyl chloride toys containing chemicals known as phthalates, which Weintraub says have been linked to kidney and liver damage and may pose a cancer risk. The concern is that children could ingest some of these compounds if they put the toys like rattles in their mouths. "It is outrageous that a scientist who buys a bottle of phthalate chemical receives a full hazard warning, but a parent buying a PVC toy often finds it labeled as nontoxic," Weintraub says.
Another concern, says PIRG, is knobs at the end of long cord that could get caught around a child's neck causing strangulation. The bottom line, says Weintraub, "shoppers should examine toys carefully for hidden dangers before they make a purchase."
But the industry and the Consumer Product Safety Commission have a very different version of this toy story. Terri Bartlett, communications director of the Toy Manufacturers of America, disputes PIRG's assertion that there are many dangerous toys lurking in the marketplace: "It's almost like they think that manufacturers are trying to hurt children, which is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of. Why would they make toys that would hurt children, when that is their market?"
She acknowledges that balloons are a "huge hazard and parents should be aware that this could create a problem." Bartlett says education about safety standards is the key to preventing injury.
Russ Rader of the Consumer Product Safety Commission says that surveys like PIRG's are scrutinized carefully, most of the toys identified as troublesome meet current standards, and that the biggest danger is that consumers still haven't thrown previously recalled toys away. CPSC did its own analysis of phthalates last year and didn't conclude they posed a risk. "The amount of chemical that can leach out of those toys ... is not enough [to] create a hazard," Rader tells WebMD.
To check CPSC's list of recalled toys, call 1-800-638-2772 or go to the agency's web site: www.cpsc.gov.
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