Bush has signed into law a bill to ban lead from children’s toys. The bill is considered to be the toughest in the world. Funny, until the scare from lead paint in the baby wooden blocks made by First Learning Co., products from Mattel and other company’s toys made in China, I thought such toxins were already banned. I should have known better. As I learned in an environmental politics course, that our regulation is based on cleaning up after the fact vs. prevention. 448 lead containing products (one half of which were toys) were recalled last year. This, though, seems to be a big and overdue step in the right direction. You can find a list of all toxic lead product recalls here, at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
A second major step forward will occur next year, when a nationwide ban on hormone-disrupting chemicals (phthalates) in soft plastic toys and cosmetics takes effect. According to a story in the Chicago Tribute, “Phthalates are suspected of causing reproductive and developmental problems, especially in boys. Then there are perfluorinated compounds in food packaging, stain-resistant carpets and non-stick pans that have been linked to cancer and birth defects. A chemical found in hard plastic baby bottles and water containers, bisphenol A, causes breast cancer and lowers sperm counts in animal tests.” You can find the full article by clicking the title, Progress against toxins in toys takes small steps.
Buy toys safely during the holidays…WonderBrains’ Toy Safety Guide is full of information on how to find safe toys for all kids.
