Toxic toys present hazard to local children

LYNN – When it comes to toxic toys on the market, the numbers tell the story.Of 1,500 popular children’s playthings tested by researchers at The Ecology Center, a Michigan-based non-profit organization, one in three were found to contain medium or high levels of chemicals that could pose health risks.Twenty percent of the toys tested contained lead, a known neurotoxin that can cause brain damage in humans. Many had lead levels above the 600-parts-per-million federal recall standard for lead paint. Other toys contained small parts that might easily be swallowed or choke a child.Cindy Luppi, co-director of Clean Water Action, a Boston-based coalition of environmental and public health groups, said some of the most dangerous toys were purchased in Lynn.”The Wal-Mart on the Lynnway sells some of the most dangerous ones on the list,” said Luppi, referring to the 2nd annual consumer guide to toxic chemicals in toys at www.HealthyToys.org, a database that the Michigan researchers and their partners nationwide released on Wednesday.”The Lynn store also had numerous samples of what can be found on the worst toys lists, such as children’s jewelry, everything from a Hannah Montana guitar bracelet to the Disney High School Musical heart earrings.”According to Luppi, toys made by Disney were clearly among the most threatening, including the Disney High School Musical crown necklace and the Disney Fairies foldout chair and sleeping pad.”There is simply no place for toxic chemicals in children’s toys,” said Ecology Center’s Jeff Gearhart, who spearheaded the research. “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.”The researchers found lead, cadmium, arsenic, PVC and other harmful chemicals the toys tested. Lead levels often were above the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) regulations and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations. The CPSC regulations, which go into effect in February 2009, would make certain products on the shelf this holiday season illegal to sell two months from now, Luppi said.The study concluded that lead is still found in toys, and not just those made in China. The lead was mostly in the paint. Twenty-one percent of the toys from China and 16 percent of those from all other countries had detectable levels of lead in 2008. Among the highest lead levels detected by the researchers was in the Halloween Pumpkin Pin made in the U.S., Luppi said.However, the news was not all bad.The good news is that 62 percent, or 954 of the 1,500 toys products tested, contained low levels of chemicals of concern, while 21 percent or 324 products contain no chemicals of concern, according to Gearhart.”These products look and feel no different than other children’s products on the shelf. These findings show that manufacturers can and should make toys free of unnecessary toxic chemicals,” he said.