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Toxic TOys
U.S. and Chinese Toymakers
Take on Toxic Toys

W
Place your cursor over the slideshow for captions.
ou might have noticed a few toys missing from your toy box. Last month, millions of Mattel toys made in China were recalled from stores. A recall happens when companies realize that products are dangerous and ask people to return them. Some of those playthings included Batman, Polly Pocket, and Doggie Day Care toys. Recently, more than 800,000 more Barbie playsets and some Fischer-Price toys were added to the list of tainted products. Now U.S. and Chinese manufacturers are scrambling to find better ways to keep toys safe.

What Happened?
All of the recalled toys have lead in their paint. Lead is a kind of metal. It is added to paints for a variety of reasons. It is a part of some pigments that give color. Lead can help paint dry faster and last longer. The paint is often cheaper than paint without lead, so toymakers use it to save money.

Lead may be good for paint, but it is bad for people. Lead is toxic, or poisonous. It can cause many health problems for people who are exposed to a lot of it. Lead is particularly dangerous for growing children. If kids eat or inhale too much lead, they can get brain damage or other nervous system problems.

In the United States, safety laws say companies cannot use lead paint on toys. And the toys that are made in other countries and sent to the U.S. must meet U.S. safety standards. Why did so many toys from China contain that dangerous metal? Chinese laws also stop toy makers from using lead paint, but the laws are not enforced well. Last week, however, the Chinese government agreed to work hard to stop companies that use lead paints.

  Think About It!
  • ToysWhy might U.S. companies have their products made in other countries?
    • Testing, Testing
    The U.S. government has a Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) that tests things like toys for lead. But the CPSC can't individually test the millions of toys that are sold in the United States every year. U.S. toy manufacturers have vowed put the toys they have made in China to the test. Mattel discovered the lead in the recently recalled toys, and vows to continue to do so with even tougher testing. The Walt Disney Company announced on Sept. 11, that it will begin to test toys made overseas. Toys "R" Us, Inc., the largest U.S. toy-store chain, also plans to test the toys sold in its stores.

    Musical2 Play our toy trivia and see how much you know
                     about your toys.


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