The unfortunate news that another 9 million toys tainted
with lead paint were recalled today underscores three problems that we face as
consumers, as parents, and as citizens who rely on our
government:
The
unfortunate news that another 9 million toys tainted with lead paint were recalled
today underscores three problems that we face as consumers, as parents, and as
citizens who rely on our government:
1-China
has lower safety standards than we do - lead paint is banned in the United States - and the fact that over the past
10 years China
has become the manufacturer of 80 percent of our toys only exacerbates that problem.
2-The
federal agency we rely on to ensure that products for sale in our country are
safe, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, is the little agency that
couldn’t. They are understaffed, underfunded, don’t have sufficient authority,
and the Bush administration has made it a headless horseman. Their most recent
nominee for Commissioner was a lobbyist for the toy manufacturers. This does
not give us confidence that the public interest is paramount.
3-But
the fact China’s
safety standards are lower shouldn’t make anyone proud of our own standards.
Toxic chemicals are present in baby and children’s products made in the US. To add
insult to the health injury we suffer from exposure to these toxics,
manufacturers are not even required to label products which contain such toxics
as phthlates - like many of the common rubber ducks used at bathtime.
So
as far as toxics in children’s products go; we are over-exposed,
under-regulated, and very late to waking up and getting government and industry
to do a better job protecting us. We need aggressive action at the federal
level to beef up our regulatory agencies, and we should embrace action being
taken at the local and state level - such as several bills filed in the
Legislature - that call for safer alternatives to toxics.
