Clearing the shelves of lead-tainted toys

The recent trouble in toyland, punctuated by massive recalls of lead-tainted toys, will soon become a problem of the past.  In a major victory for consumers the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, signed into law on August 14th, sets new, tougher standards for lead in children's products. Current regulations limit the permissible level of lead in paint and surface coatings to no more than 600 parts per million (ppm).  But there are no limits set for lead in vinyl, composite metals, or other materials used in the manufacture of children's products.

That changes on February 10th of next year. On that date, any children's product on the market that contains more than 600 ppm of accessible lead will be considered a banned hazardous substance and will be subject to immediate recall. The CPSC says the new law applies to all children's products regardless of when they were manufactured.

Our previous concerns about lead in children's lunch boxes and two Fisher-Price toy blood pressure cuffs, which slipped through regulatory loopholes, have been addressed by these new standards.    

The lead limit for children's products gets even tighter in the future.  In August 2009, the limit will be lowered to 300 ppm and in three years it will be reduced even further to 100 ppm, if technologically feasible.  Since trace amounts of lead are ever-present in our environment, it's difficult to reduce lead levels to zero, but these new limits will make children’s products much safer than they are now. 

Additionally, the new law will reduce the limit for lead in paint from 600 ppm to 90 pp, effective August 14, 2009. 

Comments

[Eric]

what good is a law if it isn't enforced?

[Safe Toys]

Well saying lead in toys will be a thing of the past is optimistic, as past toys will still be with us and who is going to check them? So let's not get complacent, but keep up the good work.