Trouble in Toyland: 21st Annual Toy Safety
Survey
11/21/2006
Executive Summary
Toys are safer than ever before, thanks to
decades of work by product safety advocates
and parents and the leadership of Congress,
state legislatures and the Consumer Product
Safety Commission (CPSC). Nevertheless, as
parents venture into crowded malls this holiday
season, they should remain vigilant about
often hidden hazards posed by toys on store
shelves.
The 2006 Trouble in Toyland report is the
21st annual Public Interest Research Group
(PIRG) survey of toy safety. This report provides
safety guidelines for parents when purchasing
toys for small children and provides examples
of toys currently on store shelves that may
pose potential safety hazards. This year,
we focused on four categories of toys: toys
that may pose choking hazards, magnetic toys,
toys that are excessively loud, and toys that
contain potentially toxic chemicals.
We visited numerous toy stores and other
retailers to find potentially dangerous toys
and identify trends in toy safety. Key findings
include:
CHOKING HAZARDS
Choking on small parts, small balls and balloons
remains a leading cause of toyrelated deaths
and injuries. Between 1990 and 2004, at least
157 children died after choking or asphyxiating
on a toy or toy part; seven children died
in 2004 alone. The law bans small parts in
toys for children under three and requires
a warning label on toys with small parts for
children between the ages of three and six.
Although most toys on store shelves are safe,
we still found some toys that may pose choking
hazards. Specifically:
• We found toys for children under three
with small parts and toys with small parts
for children under six without the required
choke hazard warning label. Balloons, which
cause the most choking deaths, are still marketed
inappropriately for young children.
• Some toys may pose a choking or suffocation
hazard even if they meet the letter of the
law. This year, two small children suffocated
when oversized, plastic toy nails sold with
a play tool bench became forcefully lodged
in their throats.
We recommend making the test for small parts
more protective of children under three. CPSC
also should consider, at minimum, special
labeling for toys shaped like corks or the
toy nails, which pose special suffocation
risks because of their shape.
MAGNETIC TOYS
Over the last year, one child died and several
others were gravely injured after swallowing
tiny but powerful magnets now commonly used
in magnetic building toys and magnetic jewelry.
If a child swallows more than one of these
magnets, the magnets can attract to each other
and cause intestinal perforation or blockage.
CPSC should adopt and enforce strong mandatory
guidelines for labeling magnetic toys to ensure
parents know to seek immediate medical attention
if a child swallows magnets.
LOUD TOYS
Almost 15 percent of children ages 6 to 17
show signs of hearing loss. In November 2003,
the American Society for Testing and Materials
adopted a voluntary acoustics standard for
toys, setting the loudness threshold for most
toys at 90 decibels. We found that several
toys currently on store shelves may not meet
the standards for appropriately loud toys;
in fact, several toys we tested exceed 100
decibels when measured at close range.
CPSC should enforce the acoustics standards
for loud toys and consider strengthening them
to be more protective of children’s hearing.
TOXIC CHEMICALS IN TOYS
Some toys can pose hidden hazards, exposing
children to dangerous chemicals that are linked
to serious health problems. We found:
• Some children’s jewelry may contain
high levels of lead, which can cause developmental
delays or even death in children exposed to
this heavy metal. We found four examples of
jewelry on store shelves containing lead at
levels ranging from 1.8% to 34% of the item’s
weight. CPSC has recalled more than 150 million
pieces of leadladen children’s jewelry
since 2004, but CPSC needs to do more to keep
this jewelry off the shelves in the first
place by enacting and enforcing requirements
for jewelry manufacturers, retailers, and
suppliers to test their products for lead.
• Manufacturers are selling play cosmetic
sets that include nail polish containing toxic
chemicals, such as toluene and xylene. Since
children often put their hands in their mouths,
nail polish offers a direct route of exposure.
CPSC should team up with the Food and Drug
Administration to require manufacturers to
stop using toxic chemicals in cosmetics marketed
for children.
• Last year, we commissioned laboratory
tests of eight soft plastic toys labeled as
not containing phthalates, a class of chemicals
linked to reproductive defects and other health
problems. We found that six of the eight “phthalate-free”
products actually contained phthalates. This
year, we again tested 10 toys labeled as “phthalate-free.”
Of the 10 toys tested, two contained detectable
levels of phthalates. Although this may be
better news for consumers, nothing in the
law has changed to hold toymakers accountable
to the “phthalate-free” label.
CPSC should ban phthalates in toys and other
products intended for children under five
and work with the Federal Trade Commission
to ensure that toys labeled “phthalate-free”
do not contain phthalates.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CONSUMERS
Be vigilant this holiday season, and remember:
• The CPSC does not test all toys, and
not all toys on store shelves meet CPSC standards.
• Our report includes only a sample
of potentially hazardous toys. Examine toys
carefully for potential dangers before you
make a purchase.
• Report unsafe toys or toy-related
injuries to the CPSC.
Full
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