by Heidi Green
December 14, 2009

Two weeks to go. If you’re like me, you haven’t finished your Christmas shopping, but before you buy another toy check out Trouble in Toyland: The 24th Annual Survey of Toy Safety. The free online guide is a quick reference providing safety guidelines on toys for small children and examples of available toys that may be hazardous.

Even with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) supposedly watching out for our kids, there’s been a flood of recalls issued for toys and other children’s products over the past couple of years. Since its inception decades ago, the CPSC had a small budget and lacked authority. Product testing was left to manufacturers, meaning, it often didn’t happen. The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) passed in August 2008 was supposed to address this problem. Congress expanded the CPSC’s budget and gave it more tools to hold corporations accountable and speed recalls. It restricted toxic lead and phthalates except to trace amounts and improved the surveillance of imported goods.

Although the CPSIA is a good start, the monitoring of domestic and international products is an immense task. The Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) estimates that the CPSC has approximately 15,000 products under its regulation.

At the state level, California has taken the lead on this issue. Just last month, Andrea Chang of the LA Times reported that Target, Kmart, and Toys R Us settled a lawsuit brought in response to their sale of toys containing excessive amounts of lead. The retailers agreed to pay $69,000 (Kmart), $175,000 (Toys R Us) and $210,000 (Target) in fines, seemingly paltry sums for such large corporations.

Sources of reliable information
With the winter holidays upon us, it is good to know about the resources provided by watchdog organizations such as the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG). In compiling their latest report, the group’s researchers visited national chain toy stores and other retailers in September and October of this year. They also analyzed CPSC recall notices and other regulatory actions to identify trends in toy safety. This year’s report focuses on three categories of toy hazards:

• lead and phthalates
• choking hazards
• excessive noisemakers

Lead and phthalates. In spite of CPSIA restrictions on lead in toys, jewelry, and other products, the CPSC has recalled nearly 1.5 million toys and other children’s products for violations just this year. One product PIRG tested was found to be a shocking 71 percent lead by weight. Fortunately, PIRG found less of a problem with phthalates, identifying just two toys with excess levels of the toxin. Unfortunately, the CPSC does not address other potentially hazardous chemicals found in many products.

Choking hazards. “Choking hazard” was the leading cause of CPSC recalls this year; 5.3 million toys and other children’s products were recalled. PIRG calls special attention to toys shaped like corks or toy nails, which may meet the CPSC’s toy size restriction but pose additional suffocation risks due to their shape.

Excessive noisemakers. A little-known restriction of the CPSIA sets a loudness threshold for most toys at 85 decibels. The PIRG team’s survey of store shelves found that many products may exceed this level.

Unfortunately, there is no definitive resource that can provide a thorough analysis of every toy on the market. However, the PIRG report is a good starting point. Parents with mobile browsing capability should bookmark this link, while those on Twitter may want to follow Toy Safety News.

In addition, parents should consider signing up to receive the CPSC’s recall notices delivered daily to your email inbox. Finally, we should all be skeptical consumers, examining toys carefully, tugging those seemingly loose parts, recognizing when toys are too loud, and reporting unsafe toys or toy-related injuries to the CPSC. You just might be the only “safety tester” a given toy is going to face.