These days many toys sold in the USA are made in China (possibly up to 80%) and lead paint is the big scare. Use this link to check in the USA by company, date, or product type,http://www.cpsc.gov/. There is a page for checking the latest notifications in Europe in the using the RAPEX system.
TOYS
As we are parents, a very real concern for us is the toys brought into our home. We have tried to limit the plastic to gifted, thrifted and saved from our childhood. We purchase wood toys whenever alternatives are available.
12.31.07 10:33 PM
Welcoming in 2008 with removing a few suspect toys from our sleeping child's room and some online research.
I have been searching for information citing legal levels of lead and had difficulty finding anything concrete. After reading the recall information listed at http://www.cpsc.gov/ , described as "violating the federal lead paint standard" I have finally come across some numbers describing the standard and allowable levels of lead in an article in the ENN web site, The Environmental News Network, http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/23170 , The article is titled, Recalled Mattel Toys: 200 Times Legal Lead Limit. How can there be safe levels in products if lead poisoning is seemingly cumulative , "bone-lead becomes "mobilized" through pregnancy or fracture healing"? http://www.nsc.org/library/facts/lead.htm has information worth reading. I am continuing my search for a government site to confirm the information.
I read through some of this and found nothing concrete about allowable levels in children's toys but good resourse for residential guidelines, http://www.epa.gov/lead/new.htm . The information I was looking for could be on this site but was self directed around it with my tangent reading style. So easy to become distracted and lost in the vast information available.
It gets my hackles up to consider the somewhat casual attitude the current administration has had up until recently in reference to lead paint and other contaminates (phthalates) in our children's toys. And when I calm down, I think how very sad for the workers who are making these tainted products, applying the lead paint and their families who may also become exposed. I wish for the eradication of the use of lead paint for us all.
So, one may think we are paranoid and our child has no toys....that is not the case. There are hand me down Lego, wooden blocks, a rocking horse, 24 hour access painting easel, puzzles, stuffed animals galore, and the ever growing library. And no, there is no midnight painting,......yet. For Solstice there was a balance beam from Hearthsong, books, and music from Chinaberry to name a few of the new attractions.
Yes, a couple of items in the toy collection were made in China, though most were not. And as of this moment....12:42 am January 1, 2008 nothing (hopefully) will make it's way through the doors of our home. Happy New Year All!!!!
Oh yes, this should prove to be quite an enlightening year!
