Worried about buying lead-laden Christmas toys for your little ones this year? You should be. And add to that list other dangerous chemicals such as arsenic, mercury and cadmium.
There apparently are plenty of land mines in toyland.
The toys come with no warnings and no indication at all that something dangerous could be lurking within. Avoiding recalled toys won't ensure anything. Plenty more toys out there have dangerous levels of this or that. Maybe they'll be exposed; maybe they won't.
There's no easy solution for this season. But some groups are starting to mobilize to expose some unsafe products. They won't be able to find them all, but at least it's a start.
And more importantly, they'll expose the problems that are far greater than many would have dreamed.
One database of tested toys is being kept at HealthyToys.org. Check it out.
Set up by the Ann Arbor, Michigan Ecology Center, it contains a list of toys that have been tested for various chemicals known to be harmful to humans. On the worst list (found so far), a "Brush Your Teeth! Robot," a Starletz Dinner Party Tea Set and Elmo's Take-Along Card Games. All of those are aimed at small children, and the first two encourage them to put the products in their little mouths. And that's just the beginning.
It's enough to drive a consumer crazy, or worse — literally.
Land mines in toyland
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