Ann Arbor - Despite public outrage and new federal protections to restrict lead and phthalates in children’s products, the Ecology Center’s latest testing of popular children’s toys and apparel still finds lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, and other harmful substances in items on store shelves. However, the number of toys with elevated lead has been decreasing steadily over the past 3 years.
The new data – formerly available at the extremely popular HealthyToys.org – will now be available at the newly redesigned www.HealthyStuff.org, along with a wide variety of other products to help consumers make better choices when shopping for their families. This year, shoppers can make a personalized holiday wish list that can be sent to family and friends, grab a blog-friendly widget, use the HealthyToys mobile application, or quickly search for toy rankings via SMS texting. Both the widgets and texting are available in English and Spanish. In addition to toys, the 2009 product testing includes children’s shoes, belts, wallets, handbags and backpacks.
In response to the increasing consumer demand for information, the Michigan House passed (last May) the Children’s Safe Products Act, which ensures that parents and all consumers have the right-to-know whether the most toxic chemicals are in children’s products in Michigan. The legislation is currently pending in the Michigan Senate’s Health Policy Committee. In the U.S. Congress, Senator Frank Lautenberg and Representative Bobby Rush are expected to introduce a new bill this session to reform the outdated Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) – the current federal law for regulating chemicals.
“Recent consumer protections for lead and phthalates in products were a good first step, but we have a long way to go to fully protect our children from the thousands of other unregulated chemicals in toys and products throughout our economy,” said Mike Shriberg, Ph.D., Policy Director for the Ecology Center.
To sample the products, Ecology Center used a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer that identifies the elemental composition of materials. This accurate device has been used by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to screen packaging; the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to screen food; and many State and County Health Departments to screen for residential lead paint.
Advance Individualized Toy Testing for Press, Advance Embargoed Access to Toy Testing Database, Personal Expert Interviews, and B-Roll Available Upon Request. Please call Mike Shriberg at 734-761-3186 x108 for more information. Entrevistas e información disponible en español al llamarle a Genoveva Howe, 734-761-3186 x115.
