Company Has Known for 5 Years About Lead at 40 Times Legal Limit in Toys Made In China

After a Chicago Tribune test found lead at 40 times the legal limit in a Thomas & Friends spinning top, Massachusetts-based Schylling Associates announced a voluntary recall of 24,000 Chinese-made tops, shipped between June 2001 and July 2002.

Lead was discovered in the paint of a wooden knob, something experts say children would be likely to put in their mouths. The heavy metal lead is particularly dangerous to youngsters, and can cause brain damage if ingested by children, lowering IQs and causing developmental delays.

According to the Tribune, company records show executives knew about the problem five years ago. They did change the design on future products, from a painted wooden knob to a plastic one. However, they kept quiet about the thousands of tainted toys that were already on the market. Now, officials warn that there is also the possibility that other toys made by Schylling had similar contamination. This story comes just days after recalls were announced for 1 million Fisher-Price toys and 1.5 million Thomas & Friends wooden railway toys, all thought to be contaminated by lead. This also follows recent food scares originating in China. Not only does this point to ongoing concerns about safety in China, where more and more of the world's products are sourced, but the case shows once again how America's lax regulatory structure has allowed for weak spots in the safety nets that are supposed to protect consumers. It comes just days after public health advocates were calling on the government to make recalls mandatory, instead of voluntary. Who knows how many children were given toxic toys as a result of a company not following through with a recall that should have been a no-brainer? Disturbingly, Tribune staff was able to easily order one of the tainted tops off eBay.

Read more about the story in the Chicago Tribune.

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