It's interesting to note that the latest finding was brought to light by a non profit agency, the Center for Environmental Health, and not by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is supposed to be responsible for the safety of products in the country. The CEH also notified several retailers including Toys 'R' Us, KB Toys, Sears, Target and others that they were carrying toys which violated the legal lead limit. According to Michael Green, Executive Director of CEH, "The fact that our group is still finding lead-tainted toys and lunchboxes after the recent spate of recalls demonstrates that the government is not protecting American children from these unnecessary lead threats."
What Mr Green says rings true, since the CPSC usually recalls products currently on the market, and doesn't really stop dangerous products before they hit the retail stores. It would be a good idea if the toy retailers could conduct independant lead tests to ensure product safety right at the source, thus preventing defaulting toys from even reaching the marketplace.
Oh no – not George! Is anything safe? These recalls are getting out of hand. I’m afraid that this is only the beginning and we’re going to see alot more as we get into the Christmas time. I now go to http://www.leadtoyrecalls.com every day to make sure I have the latest news.
It’s also got guidelines for toy safety and a list of safe lead-free made in USA toys and where to buy them.