Survey Finds Toxic or Dangerous Toys on New Hampshire Store Shelves

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Shopping Tips, Mobile Website Can Help Parents Shop Safe

NHPIRG

Contact: Addie Shankle 603.229.1343

Concord, Nov. 23 –Dangerous or toxic toys can still be found on America’s store shelves, according a New Hampshire Public Interest Research Group’s  26th annual Trouble in Toyland report.

This morning NHPIRG released the report. It reveals the results of laboratory testing on toys for lead and phthalates, both of which have been proven to have serious adverse health impacts on the development of young children.  The survey also found toys that pose either choking or noise hazards.

 “Choking on small parts, small balls and balloons is still a leading cause of toy-related injury. Between 1990 and 2009 over 200 children have died,” said NHPIRG’s Addie Shankle.  “While most toys are safe, our researchers still found toys on the shelves that pose choking hazards and other toys that contain hazardous levels of toxic chemicals including lead,” she explained.

For 26 years, the NHPIRG Trouble in Toyland report has offered safety guidelines for purchasing toys for small children and provided examples of toys currently on store shelves that pose potential safety hazards.  The group also provides an interactive website with tips for safe toy shopping that consumers can access on their smart phones at www.toysafety.mobi.

Key findings from the report include:

Toys with high levels of toxic substances are still on store shelves. Two toys contain levels of phthalates – a chemical that poses development hazards for small children — at 40 and 70 times allowable limits. Several toys violate current allowable lead limits (300ppm). Lead has negative health effects on almost every organ and system in the human body. Despite a ban on small parts in toys for children under three, we found toys available in stores that still pose choking hazards. We also found toys that are potentially harmful to children’s ears and exceed the hearing standards recommended by the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. In 2008, Congress placed strict limits on concentrations of lead and phthalates in toys and childrens articles in a law that also gave greater authority and funding to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Addie Shankle noted that the CPSC has a new database of both potential hazards and recalled products at www.saferproducts.gov.

 “Parents and toy givers need to remember that while the CPSC is doing a good job, it doesn’t test all toys on the shelves.  Consumers should also remember that toys that are not on our list of examples could also pose hazards,” Shankle concluded. “Our new Toy Tips explains the most common toy hazards and our mobile app.”

Rep. Mary Jane Wallner, Executive Director of Merrimack Valley Daycare where the release was held  made this statement: “We look forward to the release of NHPIRG’s toy safety report every year.  The information helps empower us to provide the kids with safe toys, and it is an important reminder that we must make sure safety standards aren’t rolled back.  The Consumer Product Safety Commission has made vital steps forward in protecting these little ones and I stand with NHPIRG in their fight to make sure those protections aren’t rolled back.”

To download a pdf version of Toy Tips or Trouble in Toyland, click here.

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NHPIRG, the New Hampshire Public Interest Research Group, takes on powerful interests on behalf of all Granite Staters, working to win concrete results for our health and our well-being.