Population declines on the Island of Misfit Toys

We won’t soon forget the millions upon millions of defective toys recalled in 2008 and 2007 due to lead hazards that can cause developmental problems, small magnets that can block or perforate intestines, and toxic chemicals that can put kids in comas. Consumers, as well as Consumers Union, lost confidence in the safety of toys in the marketplace. But a few items in the news recently gives us hope that things are turning around in Toyland.

At a town-hall style meeting in New York City's Times Square,  Inez Tenenbaum, Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, hailed the significant reduction in toy recalls this year. So far there have been 38 toy recalls, down from 162 in 2008 and 148 in 2007. Tenenbaum attributed the decline to increased enforcement at the ports, cooperation with other countries, consumer awareness and education, and compliance by the toy industry with new federal safety rules.

The new rules have tightened restrictions on lead, made formerly voluntary toy-safety standards mandatory, and required that toys for children under 12 be tested and certified before they're sold. “CPSC has worked hard this year to give parents and grandparents greater confidence that the toys they seek to purchase have enhanced safety protections for children,” said Tenenbaum. We agree.

Another factor that could boost consumer confidence is the Toy Industry Association’s Toy Safety Certification Program. Launched last month, the program adds an extra level of scrutiny to make sure toys are manufactured to comply with safety standards. Qualifying toys will eventually bear a safety certification mark. Although we don’t think the program requires enough randomized sampling of the final product, it’s a start. This week the association announced the first products that have been certified under the program including a Radio Flyer push toy.    
 
The third piece of toy news this week wasn't so cheery. The CPSC's annual report on toy-related deaths and injuries showed that toy-associated injuries are on the rise while fatalities have dropped over the past few years. There were 172,700 toy-related injuries that sent children under 15 to the nation's emergency rooms in 2008. That’s the highest injury level since 2001. But the number of fatalities for children under 15 has declined to 19 from 28 in 2006 and 22 in 2007, according to information the CPSC has collected so far.

With the busiest toy-buying season upon us, it's good to know that care is being taken to ensure that what's on the shelves is safe.—Don Mays

Long anticipated Chinese drywall report short on answers

Homeowners affected by tainted Chinese drywall were likely disappointed today by a report issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission that said, in effect, tests are still inconclusive.

The long-awaited multi-agency report said more information is needed before the CPSC can consider a recall, ban or other solutions to help homeowners. Additional results are due to be released next month.

"The expansive investigation and scientific work that has been done and continues to be carried out is all aimed at providing answers and solutions," Lori Saltzman, a director in the CPSC's Office of Hazard Identification and Reduction, told the Associated Press. "No connections have been made yet."

Saltzman said the agency, which has so far spent $3.5 million on the studies, has received nearly 1,900 homeowner complaints during one of its largest consumer product investigations in its history. "We understand this problem has literally driven people from their homes," she said.

According to today's report, here is what was found in three tests:

Elemental and chemical testing
The study of the elemental and chemical composition of 17 drywall samples shows higher concentrations of elemental sulfur and strontium in Chinese drywall than in non-Chinese drywall.

Chamber studies
Preliminary results of ongoing testing to detect gases emitted from drywall in laboratory chambers show higher emissions of total volatile sulfur gases from Chinese than from non-Chinese drywall.

Indoor air studies
Indoor air testing of 10 homes in Florida and Louisiana was conducted to identify and measure contaminants and to develop a drywall home indoor air testing protocol. This data from a small sample of homes allows preliminary observations of certain chemicals in the indoor air. The tests did not detect the presence or found only very limited or occasional indications of sulfur compounds of particular interest—hydrogen sulfide, carbon disulfide, and carbonyl sulfide. Concentrations of two known irritant compounds, acetaldehyde and formaldehyde, were detected in homes with and without Chinese drywall, and at concentrations that could exacerbate conditions such as asthma in sensitive populations. The levels of formaldehyde were not unusual for new homes, however, and were higher when the homes were not air conditioned.

Next steps
In November, the results of a 50-home indoor air testing study will be released as well as preliminary engineering analyses of electrical and fire safety associated with corrosion. A study of long-term corrosion issues, that seeks to simulate decades of exposure and corrosion, will not be completed until June of 2010.

That leaves homeowners continuing to grapple with builders, insurance companies and less-than-ideal living conditions. "So many of us have been really waiting on these results released today to offer us encouragement, but in fact, we're quite disappointed," Holly Krulik, of Parkland, Fla., told the Associated Press. The Krulik family moved out of their home earlier this year.

New York's Suffolk County moves to ban drop-side cribs

The legislature of Suffolk County voted to ban the sale of cribs with drop sides in that Long Island county. If the municipality signs the move into law, it will be the first place in the country to ban the sale of drop-side cribs amid an alarming number of deaths, injuries and crib recalls. In support of the legislation, lawmakers expressed concern over the estimated 90 deaths and 11,000 injuries associated with drop-side cribs between 2005 and 2008.  During the same period, the Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled more than 4 million drop-side cribs, mostly due to hardware failure. 
 
We've reported on this blog many times about hardware failures on full size cribs that put children at risk. We've reported on strangulations, entrapments, suffocations and falls—all the result of the failure of a component on a product designed to provide a safe sleeping environment for children. 
 
We proposed that ASTM-International, the organization that sets voluntary safety standards for cribs, ban the drop-side design until an appropriate durability test can be developed.  Our proposal passed and is expected to result in a major revision to ASTM’s crib standard.   
 
The CPSC is also working on revising the agency's mandatory standards for cribs.  We expect to see its new regulations in 2011. 
 
Our take:  While we commend Suffolk County for taking this action, such patchwork legislation does little to solve the larger problem.  We need strict federal standards that are applied uniformly across the entire country.  In our opinion, the CPSC can’t work fast enough to promulgate tough crib standards that will ensure that cribs provide the safest sleeping environment for all children.—Don Mays

ASTM news: Safe co-sleeping with infants

At the recent ASTM International meeting, the subcommittee on bedside sleepers was working out some final details on a safety standard. Bedside sleepers are bassinet-like devices that connect to an adult bed, allowing the baby to be within arms reach of parents, but sleeping in a safer environment.

As a practice, sharing a bed with an infant can be very dangerous.  Last week, the British Medical Journal published a report on SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) in which more than half of the 80 SIDS infants studied were co-sleeping with an adult. The researchers also found a strong correlation between the deaths and drug and alcohol use on the part of the caregiver.
 
We’ve reported on the hazards of co-sleeping with infants in the past and were criticized by many parents who feel the benefits of bed sharing outweigh the risks.  Previous research conducted by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Consumer Product Safety Commission showed that infants younger than eight months old who were placed to sleep in adult beds were as much as 40 times more likely to suffocate than if they were placed to sleep in cribs. That is a disturbing statistic.
 
Bedside sleepers have the potential to make the practice of co-sleeping with infants safer, provided the products themselves don’t pose a risk. Still, if a gap forms between the adult bed and the bedside sleeper, a baby can become entrapped and suffocate or strangle. There have been a significant number of injuries and fatalities with co-sleepers sold as recently as last year.
 
We’ve advised against the purchase of bedside sleepers and other co-sleeping devices pending the development of an adequate safety standard. ASTM, which sets voluntary safety standards for industry to follow, has made some progress and we hope that we can soon remove our warnings about these products. In addition, the CPSC recently announced plans to promulgate mandatory regulations for bedside sleepers beginning in 2011.

Our take: Until acceptable regulations or standards are developed, our position remains steadfast:  The safest place for a baby to sleep is in a full-size crib, without drop sides or soft bedding, which pose their own hazards.—Don Mays

News from ASTM: Working to make furniture safer

Yesterday I sat through a six-hour meeting of ASTM-International’s subcommittee on furniture safety. ASTM sets consensus-based, voluntary standards followed by industry. Its committees are comprised of manufacturers, trade organizations, test labs, and a few of us whiny consumer advocates. Sitting through these meetings is about as exciting as watching grass grow … and they move at about the same pace. But as with a well-tended lawn, the results eventually pay off.

Yesterday’s meeting covered two issues in which Consumers Union has played a leadership role: Furniture tip over and glass furniture safety. ASTM recently strengthened its furniture tip-over standard, which CU previously proved was too weak to protect children who become victims of falling furniture far too often. The current standard is better in that it now requires that most furniture used for clothing storage, such as dressers, be shipped with a tip restraint for anchoring to the wall.  The item must also bear a warning label that says children should not be allowed to climb on the furniture and that cautions against placing a heavy object, such as a TV, atop furniture not intended for that use.

But because of the likelihood that consumers won’t install the tip restraint or heed the warnings, we think furniture should be inherently stable—that is, remain stable if a child climbs up fully-opened drawers. Some manufacturers argue that they want to test for that scenario by opening the drawers only two-thirds of the way.  But that’s not how drawers are used, particularly if you’re searching for that missing pair of argyle socks.
 
With much wrangling at yesterday’s meeting, we were able to reach a complex compromise that sets a more rigorous testing standard, which should help ensure that furniture is more stable in the future. The changes must be approved by the committee.
 
As we’ve reported before, lacerations from glass in furniture are responsible for about 20,000 visits to the emergency room each year, mostly serious injuries to children. The Today Show covered this topic yesterday and featured footage of our testing. 
 
Federal regulations require the use of safety glass in shower doors, storm doors, and patios doors, but there’s not even a voluntary standard for safety glass in furniture.  We’re working to change that and, together with a few committee members, introduced a proposed safety standard that will require either tempered or laminated glass to be used in tables. ASTM committee members will vote on the proposed standard, but it may take months or years, to reach consensus. We hope to see some progress on this standard before the grass starts growing again next spring.—Don Mays

Minority children at higher risk of accidental death

Here’s a racial disparity that hurts the youngest the most: Minority children are more likely to die from drowning, suffocation, and poisoning than white children.
 
Blacks, American Indians, Alaskan Natives, and Asian/Pacific Islanders are all affected. The differences are not insignificant. One example: More than three times as many African-American children ages 5 to 14 drown as white children in the same age range.
 
Drowning isn’t the only killer. In a study published in the April 2007 issue of Pediatrics, researchers found that although unintentional poisonings had dropped in all ethnic and racial groups, black children still died from unintentional poisoning at a rate more than two and a half times higher than white children.
 
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which was passed in 2008 to overhaul the product-safety system, required the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study why minority children seem to be more at risk for injury and death from product-related incidents than white children, and to find ways to reduce that risk. 
 
The GAO issued its report recently. One finding: Gaps in information collected in hospitals and listed on death certificates make it harder for the government to track how and why kids are being killed. The report calls for the Consumer Product Safety Commission to do a better job of collecting information about accidental deaths. The GAO also suggested that the CPSC find more effective ways of getting its safety messages out to the communities most at risk.
 
This week, the CPSC responded to the new information and recommendations. In a report submitted to Congress the agency said that information collected on race will be expanded to include more categories, and that it’s working with hospitals to ensure that the vital information they collect on race is consistent.  The CPSC will also be working with community groups to better target safety messages to at-risk community members, translating information into Spanish and raising awareness through minority media outlets.
 
Consumers Union is concerned about protecting the smallest among us who cannot protect themselves. The evidence indicating increased risks of harm and death for minority children is disturbing and we’ll be following the issue and sharing any updates.  

Report: The 10 riskiest foods overseen by the FDA

Leafy greens top the list of the 10 riskiest foods regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, according to a new report from the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Given recent recalls of spinach and other greens that news isn't surprising, but we were a bit baffled by some of the other foods on the list such as potatoes and ice cream. Then we read the reasons why.

"The most surprising things on the list are not so surprising when you look closely at the explanations and qualifications in the report," said Jean Halloran, Director of Food Policy Initiatives for Consumers Union.

The FDA is responsible for regulating produce, seafood, egg and dairy products -- but not meat or poultry -- that comprise nearly 80 percent of the food supply. The CSPI report noted that more than 1,500 separate, definable foodborne illness outbreaks were associated with the 10 foods on the list, causing nearly 50,000 reported illnesses. Since most foodborne illnesses go unreported, that number represents only a fraction of cases.

Here are the top 10 offending foods and excerpts from sections of the report that detail why these foods made the list:

1) Leafy greens (363 outbreaks, 13,568 reported cases of illness)
Outbreaks from leafy greens occur anywhere these popular food items are consumed. Contamination may be present from production and processing, or may occur through improper handling and preparation, such as inadequate handwashing and cross-contamination of cutting boards and other equipment. A major outbreak occurred in bagged spinach in 2006. In restaurants, any of these problems in only a single food item can affect multiple patrons.

2) Eggs (352 outbreaks, 11,163 reported cases of illness)
Eggs can contain salmonella. Half of all egg outbreaks occurred from restaurants and other food establishments. While proper egg handling and cooking should destroy most pathogens, serving eggs raw or “runny,” or leaving egg dishes at improper holding temperatures (such as on a breakfast buffet) can allow the bacteria to multiply.

3) Tuna ( 268 outbreaks, 2341 reported cases of illness)
Fresh fish decay quickly after being caught and, if stored above 60 degrees F, begin to release natural toxins that are dangerous for humans. Adequate refrigeration and handling can slow this spoilage, but the toxin cannot be destroyed by cooking, freezing, smoking, curing, or canning.

4) Oysters (132 outbreaks, 3409 reported cases of illness)
Illnesses from oysters occur primarily from two sources: Norovirus and Vibrio. Although Norovirus in other foods is usually associated with improper handling during harvest or preparation, oysters can actually be harvested from waters contaminated with Norovirus. When served raw or undercooked, those oysters can cause gastroenteritis, an inflammation of the stomach and small or large intestines.

5) Potatoes (108 outbreaks, 3659 reported cases of illness)
Potatoes are grown in the soil, but they are always cooked before consuming. Outbreaks are linked to dishes, like potato salad, that can contain many ingredients and also a broad range of pathogens. More than 40 percent of potato outbreaks were linked to foods prepared in restaurants and food establishments (including grocery stores and delis).

6) Cheese (83 outbreaks, 2761 reported cases of illness)
Cheese can become contaminated with pathogens during the initial phases of production (curdling, molding, and salting), or later during processing. This summer California health officials warned consumers about eating Latin American-style cheeses such as queso fresco made with unpasteurized milk that may contain bacteria.

7) Ice cream (74 outbreaks, 2594 reported cases of illness)
Almost half of all ice-cream outbreaks contained in CSPI’s database occurred in private homes. This is most likely due to the use of undercooked eggs in homemade ice cream.

8) Tomatoes (31 outbreaks, 3292 reported cases of illness)
Salmonella can enter tomato plants through roots or flowers and can enter the tomato fruit through small cracks in the skin, the stem scar, or the plant itself. Once inside, destruction of salmonella without cooking the tomato is very difficult. Norovirus was the second most common hazard. Restaurants were responsible for 70 percent of all illnesses associated with tomatoes.

9) Sprouts (31 outbreaks, 2022 reported cases of illness)
The most likely source of sprout contamination is the seeds that are used to grow the sprouts. Seeds may become contaminated in the field or during storage, and the warm and humid conditions required to grow sprouts are ideal for the rapid growth of bacteria. Improper handling and poor hygiene in sprout production have also caused some sprout-related outbreaks.

10) Berries (25 outbreaks, 3397 reported cases of illness)
Most of the berry-related illnesses were caused by Cyclospora. The resulting  infection is a parasitic illness of the intestines, which can cause severe diarrhea, dehydration, and stomach cramps. Importantly, the illness does not resolve itself without antibiotics, thus requiring a trip to the doctor.

Our take: This Top 10 list underscores the need for food safety reform. The  House  passed the Food Safety Enhancement Act in July. We'd like to see the Senate follow its lead and take stronger measures to protect the nation's food supply.

Stopping to talk about distracted driving

This week our Cars blog had a view from the front seat of the Distracted Driving Summit arranged by the Department of Transportation in Washington D.C. The lawmakers, safety advocates, entrepreneurs and victims at the summit engaged in a free-wheeling conversation about drivers doing other things while operating a moving vehicle.

While the popularity of texting or talking on a cell phone has brought this safety concern to the fore, the summit also covered eating, drinking, grooming, talking to a passenger, dealing with children and other distractions.

As Tom Mutchler, an engineer in our Auto Test division wrote, scientifically, there are different kinds of distractions.

• Visual distractions take your eyes off the road.
• Manual distractions take your hands off the wheel.
• Cognitive distractions take your mind off the road.

"Simple in-vehicle tasks like tuning a radio (assuming you’re not navigating a complex in-car multidirectional controller) have little cognitive load, a slight visual load (a quick glance), and a brief manual load. Adjusting the radio is often accepted as a baseline for comparing the amount of distraction of other controls. Various other 'old-school' distractions each register differently with respect to these demands.
 
But texting is a 'perfect storm.' It requires you to look at the keyboard, manually manipulate the keys, and think about what you’re writing. This means texting is a visual, manual, and cognitive distraction all in one."

You can read the entire series of posts on our Cars blog but please, not on a handheld device in the car.

Related reading: Over the past few months, The New York Times has been running a series called Driven to Distraction, which also highlights the dangers of doing other things while driving. The stories involve cabbies, truckers and traveling salesmen but the most compelling accounts come from accident victims and their families.

Target fined $600,000 for violating lead paint ban

Target has agreed to pay a $600,000 civil penalty to settle allegations that the retailer knowingly sold toys with paint and surface coatings that exceeded acceptable lead levels, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced today. The penalty is associated with items sold by Target from May 2006 through August 2007 that were subsequently recalled.

“These highly publicized toy recalls were among many that helped spur action last year to impose even stricter limits on lead paint on toys,” said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. “This penalty should remind importers and retailers that they have always had the same obligation to meet the strict lead limits as the manufacturers.”

The recalled toys follow. See the recall notices for more photos.

• 350,000 Happy Giddy gardening tools and Sunny Patch chairs
• 190,500 Kool Toyz toy sets
• 5,000 Anima  Bamboo Collection games

Up in smoke: FDA bans flavored cigarettes

As part of the national effort to reduce smoking in America, the Food and Drug Administration announced a ban on cigarettes that taste like fruit, candy or clove. Talk about a gateway drug. Who do you think is attracted to cigarettes that taste like candy?

True confession time: When I was 14 and a freshman in high school, I decided it would be cool to learn how to smoke. Too scared to buy a pack from a cashier, I walked down the block to Top’s Diner and put my dollar in the cigarette machine. I knew before I even arrived what brand I wanted: Kool. Why? I thought the menthol would make them taste better, smoother. And menthol cigarettes seemed somehow safer than regular cigarettes like Marlboro Red or something really hard-core like Lucky Strikes. Turns out I was far from alone: Studies have shown that 17-year-old smokers are three times as likely to use flavored cigarettes as smokers over the age of 25.

The good news is I never got started. After one Kool alone in my room, I never smoked again. But many teen smokers become adults who smoke. "Almost 90 percent of adult smokers start smoking as teenagers," says FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. "These flavored cigarettes are a gateway for many children and young adults to become regular smokers."

The FDA says its ban on sweet-flavored cigarettes highlights the importance of reducing the number of children who start to smoke, and who become addicted to dangerous tobacco products. Next on the agency's agenda: regulating both menthol cigarettes and flavored tobacco products other than cigarettes.

Any company that continues to make, ship or sell these products may be subject to FDA enforcement actions. The FDA is asking for your help, too: If you see these sweet cigarettes for sale, please report them to 1-877-CTP-1373 or on the FDA's Web site.

Check out the FDA advisory to parents on the risks associated with flavored tobacco products for more information.—Desiree Calamari