Another Toy Recall: Mattel ID's More Toys With Lead Paint

The toy-making giant has recalled another 800,000 Mattel and Fisher Price toys because their Chinese manufacturers used lead paint in making them. It is the third such recall in about a month's time, and represents a huge black eye to what was one of America's most trusted names in toys.

As the number of recalls grows, revelations continue to mount about the inadequacy of Chinese oversight of manufacturers, the industry's monitoring of its own products and the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission's ability to stop hazardous products from being stocked on the shelves. For instance, the agency has a single worker responsible for testing toys suspected of being defective.

Lead, remember, is a toxic substance that can cause irreversible brain damage to children and fetuses exposed to high levels as their nervous systems are developing. The extent of the threat from toys is based on such factors as how old and weathered toys have become, since paint is more likely to chip or crack over time -- and how often children put the toys in their mouths.

For more details about the latest products recalled, see the Consumer Product Safety Commission's Web site.

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