Summary

New, more stringent standards governing permissible lead content in children's products have been published by the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC). They take effect in stages, on February 10, 2009, August 14, 2009, and August 14, 2011. 
    According to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, section 101, passed by Congress in August, permissible lead in paint or other coatings will be reduced from the current 600 parts per million (ppm) to 90ppm on August 10, 2009. 
     Permissible total lead content in the product - coating plus substrate (underlying material or body of the product or part) - will be reduced from no defined limit at present to 600 ppm by February 10, 2009, 300 ppm on August 14, 2009, and 100 ppm on August 14, 2011.
    A significant change is that the new limits apply to children ages 12 and younger, an increase in the age limit which will protect many more children. 
    Finally, lead-free coatings may no longer be considered a barrier making lead content in the substrate inaccessible. 

In this article:
*Changes in the law
*How you can make safer toy selections
*What we plan to do
*Is China the only culprit? What are they doing about the problem?

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    At present, products with paint or coatings containing more 600 ppm are banned from commerce. What is less well known that this rule has applied to coatings only. Until now, it has been legal to sell products with lead in the substrate, as long as it was covered by paint or other coating! This has been a subject of hot debate for some time, with consumer advocates on one side and toy industry lobbyists on the other. I had an opportunity to voice this criticism to a group of senior CPSC representatives at Toy Fair in February of this year.
    Health professional and consumer advocates have objected that 600 ppm is far too lax a standard, and ignores the danger of a lead-containing substrate being exposed when the coating is breached by wear, damage, or chewing. 
    This longstanding weak regulation should be seen in the context of the fact that the effects of lead in the body are cumulative. Measures of the content of this nerve toxin in a product is meaningless without knowing how much of it is ingested by whoever handles it. Even a tiny amount may be harmful over an extended period to a young child who handles a lead-containing product and then eats without hand-washing, or who mouths or chews the product.  Extensive research has failed to produce a formula to translate concentration of lead in a toy to the medically meaningful statistic, the concentration of lead in a child's bloodstream. An in-depth discussion of this topic may be read at 
 http://www.turnertoys.com/lead-hazard/default.htm  and 
 http://www.turnertoys.com/pvc3Stabilizers.htm 

  The new regulations, as detailed above, are an effective and aggressive effort to address these regulatory shortcomings.  However, there are potential loopholes in these new regulations:
  The final standard of 100 ppm in total product content takes effect "...unless the Commission determines that it is not technologically feasible to have this lower limit."   
  "Some children’s products may be exempted or excused from these new lead limits if a component part containing lead is inaccessible. The Commission will provide guidance by rule on what component parts are inaccessible within a year."  What "inaccessible" and "technologically feasible" eventually mean one can only guess.
   "The Commission will also evaluate whether certain electronic devices, including devices that contain batteries, must comply with the lead limit."   This provision seems more reasonable.  High-tech toys require electronics, which require solder, which require at least some lead.  
     The new standards will be retroactive, governing products already in the distribution pipeline - maybe.  This means that products violating the new standards as of the date of each change - February and August 2008, August 2009 -  are banned from sale and must be destroyed, whether they are in manufacturers' or distributors' warehouses or on store shelves.  However, retroactivity is based on CPSC's chief counsel's interpretation of the law as passed by Congress, and is likely to be subject to lobbying pressure and possibly lawsuits from retailers and the major toy manufacturers. 

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Making Safer Choices; What's happening in China? Are shoppers still running away from Chinese toys? Are you?
     In March. 2008, we published a detailed article on evaluating toys for safety hazards. You can learn to detect mechanical and age-recommendation hazards, return unsuitable products for refund, and perhaps report the offending toy. The only change in our advice is that as of August 2009, lead test swabs will no longer be useful for detecting legal violations of lead limits.  However, they will still be very useful for detecting lead in toys that have large concentrations of the toxin. Most of the deliberate violations - lead-pigmented paint, lead-stabilized PVC - are easily detected with swabs used as we suggest.  Read the article for details.  
     "Child-safe" paints are safe for occasional mouth contact. However, no paint is really safe enough to eat! If your child is still teething or trying to eat every object in the house, simple unfinished wood or soft toys are better choices.  
     The other big change is that in 2008 there have been only 14 toy recalls because of lead hazard, and only 10 were made in China. Since last year, China has forced many small toys manfucturers out of business, and has started conducting their own testing programs. There were not enough labs at first, so many U.S. importers found they could not get timely delivery of toys awaiting testing before being released for shipments for Christmas 2007.
     Additionally, some manufacturer-importers have started their own testing program. Guidecraft (kitchens, furniture, blocks) has what we consider an excellent and scientifically valid program to guarantee the safety of the paint finishes on their imports. Kettler and one of our Pedal Car suppliers use a polyester powder coat (not associated with lead pigments in commercially available formulations) rather than paint, and we have explicit statements from all our other vendors that they are engaging in enhanced testing and on-site inspection of factories. 
     The great irony - the last word and the last laugh - is that the new testing requirements, along with the drop in the value of the dollar, higher wage rates in the new affluent China, and the consumer flight to American-made toys, has increased the cost of importing from China. Chinese toys are no longer the easy money for importers or the great engine of the Chinese economy they once were. 
     Last year we asked: Would you spend more for an American-made toy if you could buy a Chinese-made toy that was exactly as well-made and as safe? You overwhelmingly answered "Yes!" Do you still feel that way?
Send me an email (ed@turnertoys.com ) and tell me!

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What you can do; What we are doing 
1)     You can learn how to inspect your children's toys for all hazards except chemical. You can also stop buying toys primarily because they are cheap! Nearly all lead hazard recalls are for less expensive mass-market toys.  Mechanical hazards are often design errors, which anyone can make, but lead hazard is almost alway due to cost-cutting because of price pressure. 
2)     Speaking of price cutting, the retroactive nature of the new regulation is likely to cause the distribution chain to try to clear the shelves of non-compliant product between Christmas and February 10 with discount sales. Watch out for sell-offs of cheap imported toys between now and then. We are going to watch out for it, too. 
3)     Contact your Congressional delegation and tell them you support the strongest interpretation and enforcement of the new ruling under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. 

     Turnertoys has always performed mechanical inspection and play-testing for safety, durability, and play value on everything we sell. Since last Fall, Turnertoys has been 1) limiting our use of Chinese made toys, 2) Using swab-type tests to sample our inventory for lead and cadmium hazard, 3) applying pressure on our suppliers to use statistically valid methods of inspection and testing.  
     We are considering renting an X-ray testing device for lab-quality detection of chemical hazards, although in the current economic environment, we may not be able to afford it.  You can help, of course, by doing your holiday toy buying at Turnertoys!

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