August 06, 2007
Lead in toys. A Fact of Life for Some.
Across the U.S. stores are removing Mattel products because lead based paint was used during the manufacturing process.
While exhaustive, this type of recall does not remove all the potential hazards. Many small toys that are equally as dangerous can be found in vending machines and as free giveaways.
For example, these 2 stories from NYTimes.com:
That is just what happened in 2003, when doctors in Oregon found a lead medallion that had been purchased from vending machine in the stomach of a young boy who had complained of abdominal cramps and diarrhea.
And last year, Jarnell Brown, a 4-year-old in Minneapolis, swallowed a heart-shaped charm that had been given away by Reebok International as a sales incentive on its children’s footwear. Jarnell died after suffering vomiting, seizures and respiratory arrest. During the autopsy, a charm imprinted with the Reebok logo was removed from his stomach.
Exposure to lead, even small amounts, can affect normal brain development in children. Cleveland, which in 2002 was number 1 in the nation with regards to elevated blood levels in children, is currently working on this issue by lowering the threshold for lead poising.
But in some parts of the world the effort to protect children is not so great.
In one Reuters report we learn that Beijing was silent on the Mattel toy recall. The report goes on to say that "60 percent of Chinese-made toys used paint with lead above internationally accepted limits" and that it was business as usual in the toy stores across China.
"The worry isn't big toy makers that also export their products. The worry is small factories," said Feng Guoqiang, a childhood development specialist at Peking University's Health Science Centre.
For parents in China, it is just one more thing to worry about.
"There are just too many things to worry about," said Li Huijing, mother of a five-year-old girl. "There are some things I just try not to think about. I try to pay more for good toys."