On Wednesday November 7, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued
a recall for a common children’s product called Aqua Dots, a toy craft
kit that includes small beads. When swallowed, the beads convert into a
chemical ingredient (similar to a date rape drug) that poses severe
health threats—children in the U.S. and other countries who have
ingested these beads have lapsed into a coma or otherwise taken gravely
ill.
It
is becoming clearer to consumers everyday that having our public health
and safety predicated on a recall system is inefficient, unnecessary
and dangerous. Over the past several months, products being recalled
range from tires to seafood to children’s toys and more. Recalls are
supposed to be a last resort, after every diligent precaution has been
taken by business and government to ensure the safety of products on
our shelves. This parade of recalls shines a light on an unacceptable
level of corporate misbehavior, government inertia, and the resulting
chaos for consumers and parents.
MASSPIRG is calling for
immediate action by Congress to pass the Consumer Product Safety Reform
Act of 2007, a bill which would add the staff, enforcement authority,
and independent surveillance of imports that this critical agency needs
to carry out its mission to protect the public. “Parents and consumers
should not have to head into the holiday shopping season in fear for
their families’ safety,” said Domenitz. “Clearly we cannot rely on the
corporate toy businesses to make safe products, and we cannot rely on
the Bush administration to strengthen the agency that is supposed to
serve as our watchdog. When parents ask us what to do next, we tell
them ‘call your Congressman.'" The CPSC reform act, S 2045, was
reported out of a Senate subcommittee last week.
