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More Kids' Products Found Containing Unsafe Chemicals

PIRG tests toys in Chicago, finds lead and contaminants

By Lisa Wade McCormick
ConsumerAffairs.com

October 30, 2009

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Consumer advocates in Illinois have discovered some toys and other children's products sold in Chicago-area stores violate current safety standards for lead or contain illegal chemicals.

Researchers with the Illinois Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) tested 87 different children's products -- including toys, jewelry, and Halloween accessories -- for lead, bromine, and other toxic chemicals like phthalates.

Test results released this week in a report titled "Chemical Compliance: Testing for Toxics in Children's Products" revealed two products contained phthalates. Those are a family of chemicals banned earlier this year by the federal government.

Phthalates can cause reproductive defects in men and women, premature birth, early onset puberty for young girls, and lower sperm counts in men, according to PIRG officials. Children are more susceptible to these health effects, PIRG said, because their bodies are still developing.

Dangerous toys

The two children's products found containing what PIRG called "actionable levels of phthalates" that violate federal law are:

• The Little Princess handbag: Tests on the purse, purchased at Claire's Boutique, revealed it contained the phthalate chemical DEHP at 54000 ppm and DINP at 2200 ppm;

• Elmo's Lunch Box: Tests revealed the lunch box contained 730 ppm of the phthalate chemical DEHP and 72,000 ppm of the phthalate DIDP.

Illinois researchers, who partnered with HealthyStuff.org in these tests, also discovered six children's products with levels of lead that exceeded the current 300 parts per million (ppm) allowed by federal law.

Those toys, jewelry, and Halloween accessories include:

• Marvel Hot Rodz: Tests revealed the top of a car and Spider-Man's head contained 1,940 parts ppm of lead and 380 ppm of the chemical bromine;

• A painted duck: Tests revealed the duck's face contained 2,215 ppm of lead and 306 ppm of arsenic. The duck's red jacket contained 1,545 ppm of lead and 247 ppm of arsenic;

• Pink diamond clip on earrings from Claire's: Tests revealed the dangling section of the earrings contained 26,932 ppm of lead;

• A Knight's helmet Halloween costume: Tests revealed the top, painted part of the helmet contained 384 ppm of lead, 38 ppm of arsenic, and 207 ppm of bromine;

• LOVE Pink Block Cell Phone (Halloween) Accessory from Claire's: Tests revealed the product contained 7,637 ppm of lead;

• Alligator Cell Phone Charm from Claire's: Tests revealed this Halloween accessory contained 282,439 ppm of lead.

PIRG officials said these are the first tests done on children's products since the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CSPIA) required the amount of lead allowed to decrease from 600 parts per million (ppm) to 300 ppm by August 15, 2009.

The new law, which also bans the use of six phthalates in toys, requires lead levels in children's products to drop to 100 ppm by August 2011.

Toys and other children's products tainted with lead pose a serious health concern, PIRG officials said, because the chemical can harm nearly every organ in the body, attack the central nervous system, lead to permanent brain and behavioral damage, or even cause death.

Although some of the toys tested contained dangerous toxins, PIRG officials said the results are still encouraging.

"After the wave of record recalls of dangerous toys just two years ago, we're glad to see that most of the toys we tested are in compliance with the law," said Brian Imus, director of Illinois PIRG. "But not all toys are safe and we must do more to prevent toxic toys from ending up on store shelves."

The group's report echoed those sentiments. "The testing conducted is but a small sample of the toys and other children's products currently on the market," the report states. "However, based on this small sample, it is good to see the vast majority of products meeting current safety regulations...but, there should be no products available on store shelves that violate current lead and phthalate standards."

"Overwhelming weight of evidence"

Lead and phthalates, however, aren't the only worrisome chemicals in children's products, the report said. "Cadmium, brominated flame retardants and Bisphenol-A all pose a threat to the growth and development of children," the report noted. "Yet these chemicals and others are being used in toys, baby bottles, and other children's products."

PIRG Public Health Advocate Liz Hitchcock said the government should expand the number of chemicals it regulates in toys.

"Tougher lead safety standards and a ban on phthalates may be making toys safer, but there are other harmful chemicals commonly found in children's products that are not regulated," she said.

One of those chemicals is bromine, which is widely used in children's products. Studies have shown damaging impacts to the thyroid and motor and memory skills from this chemical, Hitchcock said.

To ensure the safety of children's products, PIRG officials called on state and federal policy-makers to take the following action:

• Phase out dangerous chemicals: "The federal government must act based on the overwhelming weight of evidence showing that some chemicals might harm human health," the report states. "Manufacturers should be required to remove chemicals that may pose a particular threat to fetuses, infants, and children, particularly when the chemical is not necessary for the product to function according to design."

• Reform chemical policies: PIRG officials said manufacturers can now put chemicals on the market without proving they are safe. "Manufacturers should be required to provide all hazard and health-impact information to the state and federal government so agencies can begin to assess the thousands of chemicals currently on the market for which little or inadequate data are available," the report states.

• Inform consumers about the dangerous chemicals: PIRG officials said manufacturers should be required to label products with the names of dangerous chemicals. That action would allow parents to choose less toxic products;

• Give financial support to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). "Congress should fully fund this important agency so that it may utilize the new authority and responsibility that it was given in the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act," the report states.

PIRG officials bought the toys it tested from four retailers in Chicago: Target, Toys R' Us, Claire's Boutique, and Dollar Tree.

All of the group's test results are posted on HealthyStuff.org's Web site, a national database of more than 5,000 products tested for toxic chemicals.

HealthyStuff.org is a project of the Michigan-based Ecology Center, which has spearheaded research on toxins in toys, cars, pet toys, and children's car seats. The non-profit environmental group annually tests toys for lead and other toxins.

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