AUSTIN, Nov. 24 -Dangerous or toxic toys can still be found on America's store shelves, TexPIRG announced on Tuesday in its 24th annual Trouble in Toyland report.
The latest Trouble in Toyland report, along with a new interactive tool accessible via smart phone or computer - http://toysafety.mobi or http://www.toysafety.net - will help parents and other toy-buyers avoid some common hazards.
"When it comes to toys, I try to see the holidays through the eyes of my two preschool granddaughters," said Congressman Lloyd Doggett. "The federal government has a vital role in consumer protection, but there is no substitute for informed parents who use available information to keep their children safe."
And if toy buyers discover they have bought a dangerous toy, they can report it to U.S. PIRG using the new interactive website. Consumers should also report dangerous products to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
"Now parents can shop safely and avoid purchasing potentially dangerous toys for their kids," said TexPIRG Advocate Melissa Cubria.
"And with our new, interactive tool, parents and other consumers can report toys they think are hazardous so we can investigate them and report them to the federal government," she added.
The 2009 Trouble in Toyland report - and the interactive website reachable from mobile phone or computer - focuses on three categories of toy hazards: toys that may pose choking hazards, toys that are excessively loud, and toys that contain the toxic chemicals lead and phthalates.
"This time of year, many children are asking for toys that are not in their best interest when it comes to safety," said Dr. Pat Crocker, Chief of Emergency Medicine, Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas. "There are hundreds of toys on the market that contain small and sharp parts that could cause choking or other severe injuries. Other toys could contain poison such as lead, which could cause long-term complications, both mentally and physically."
TexPIRG noted that some progress has been made on toy safety in
the past year, thanks to a new law overhauling the
CPSC.
"But there's no magic wand to fix the CPSC, and making products safer won't happen overnight," said Cubria. "Restoring consumer confidence in the products we buy will take continued hard work on the part of the CPSC and responsible retailers and manufacturers."
The findings in this year's Trouble in Toyland highlight the need for continued improvement in order to protect American's children:
• Despite a ban on small parts in toys for children under three, there are still toys available that pose serious choking hazards. Between 1990 and 2008, at least 196 children died after choking or asphyxiating on a toy or toy part; three died in 2008 alone.
• Some toys tested exceeded 85 decibels sound level, which is the volume threshold established under American Society for Testing and Materials standards. Almost 15 percent of children aged 6 to 17 show signs of hearing loss.
• Earlier this year, toys and other children's products containing more than 0.1% of phthalates were banned. Still, TexPIRG found children's products that contained concentrations of phthalates up to 7.2%.
• Lead was severely restricted in toys earlier this year, but TexPIRG researchers found lead-laced toys on store shelves. Lead has negative health effects on almost every organ and system in the human body. One preschool book contained lead paint far above the new limits and TexPIRG notified the CPSC.
"We're encouraged that Toys R Us stopped the sale of this particular book once we notified the CPSC of the lead paint violation," Cubria noted. "We hope we can continue to see this kind of progress in protecting kids from all toy hazards."
But one store chain removing one book from its shelves is not enough to keep the country's children from harm. In fact, according to the most recent data from the CPSC, toy-related injuries sent more than 82,000 children under the age of five to emergency rooms in 2008. Nineteen children died from toy-related injuries that year.
That's why the PIRG federation developed the interactive tool - http://toysafety.mobi or http://www.toysafety.net - that allows shoppers to check on possible hazards, as well as report hazards they find.
For 24 years, TexPIRG's Trouble in Toyland report has offered safety guidelines for purchasing toys for small children and provides examples of toys currently on store shelves that pose potential safety hazards.
With more than 65 percent of the toys bought in the United States between the Friday after Thanksgiving and Christmas, parents and caregivers are heading into the country's busiest toy-buying season.
But with millions of toys being recalled because of dangerous lead paint and magnets, toy shoppers need to remember that that number is a small fraction of the overall number of toys -- approximately 3 billion -- sold in the United States every year.
"Shoppers need to be even more informed than usual to make sure they buy safe, age-appropriate toys," said Tareka Wheeler, Safe Kids Austin coordinator. "Even though most toys in the U.S. today are considered to be safe, it doesn't mean we should throw caution to the wind."