Lead, magnets in toys prompt another recall

WASHINGTON -- Mattel announced recalls Tuesday of 9 million more Chinese-made toys, including popular Barbie, Polly Pocket and "Cars" movie items, and warned that more could be ordered off store shelves because of lead paint and tiny magnets that could be swallowed.

The recalls came nearly two weeks after Mattel Inc., the nation's largest toy company, recalled 1.5 million Fisher-Price infant toys worldwide, which were also made in China, because of possible lead-paint hazards for children.

The government warned parents to make sure children are not playing with any of the recalled toys.

Nancy Nord, acting Consumer Product Safety Commission chairwoman, said no injuries had been reported with any of the products involved in Tuesday's recalls. She said the recalls were intentionally broad to prevent injuries.

Several injuries had been reported in an earlier Polly Pocket recall last November. At least one U.S. child has died and 19 others have needed surgery since 2003 after swallowing magnets used in toys, the government said.

The recall announced Tuesday includes about 9.3 million play sets that contain small, powerful magnets. Among the toys are Polly Pocket dolls and Barbie and Tanner play sets, along with Batman and OnePiece Triple Slash Zolo Roronoa action figures, and Doggie Day Care. Many of the magnetic toys are older and may have been bought as early as 2003.

Also recalled Tuesday were 253,000 of Mattel's die-cast cars modeled after "Sarge" in the cartoon movie "Cars" that contain lead paint.

"Another week, another recall of Chinese-made toys," said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who suggested detaining and inspecting all Chinese toy imports for lead paint. "We can't wait any longer for China to crack down on its lax safety standards. This needs to stop now before more children and more families are put at risk."

In a conference call with reporters, Mattel Chief Executive Bob Eckert said the company is stepping up its oversight and testing in its production processes. As a result, he said, more recalls may occur.

"There is no guarantee that we will not be here again and have more recalls," Eckert said. "We are testing at a very high level here."

In full-page ads Tuesday in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today, Mattel said it has "one of the most trusted names with parents" and was "working extremely hard to address your concerns and continue creating safe, entertaining toys for you and your children."

Tuesday's recalls were the latest blows to the nation's toy industry, which relies on China for about 80 percent of toys sold in the United States.

On Aug. 2, Mattel recalled about 1.5 million Chinese-made Fisher-Price toys -- including characters such as Dora the Explorer, Big Bird and Elmo -- that contain lead paint. In June, about 1.5 million Thomas & Friends wooden railway toys, imported from China and distributed by the RC2 Corp. were recalled because of lead paint.

Lead is toxic if ingested by young children. Under current regulations, children's products found to have more than 0.06 percent lead accessible to users are subject to a recall.

"There is no excuse for lead to be found in toys entering this country," Nord said. "It's totally unacceptable and it needs to stop."

Nord said the company has stopped selling the recalled products, instructed retailers to pull them from the shelves and made a production change. Mattel is also offering replacement products.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission, which negotiated details of Mattel's recalls, reported that in the previous recall of Polly Pocket play sets Nov. 21, 2006, three children had been injured by swallowing more than one magnet. All three suffered intestinal perforations that required surgery.

When more than one magnet is swallowed, they can attach to each other and cause intestinal perforation, infection or blockage, which can be fatal.

Mattel officials said they became aware in late July of potential problems at factories in China and began investigating. While testing to determine which products might be affected, the company alerted the CPSC, Eckert said.

The Mattel executive said the decision to move forward with a recall was made at the end of last week. When The Associated Press learned late Monday that another Mattel recall was in the works and contacted the CPSC, a spokesman declined to comment.

CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson said the time between this decision and the announcement was spent determining the scope and exact nature of the problem, as well as negotiating with the company on the remedy for the recall, the logistics of an information hot line and a Web presence for recall information. He said these logistical considerations are necessary to "ensure that at the point of CPSC's announcement, the consumer will have those tools and they will know what the next steps are."

For information about Tuesday's recalls, consumers should call Mattel at 888-597-6597 for information about toys with magnets, or 800-916-4997 for information about the die-cast cars.

WHERE TO CALL

For information about Tuesday's recalls, consumers should call Mattel at 888-597-6597 for information about toys with magnets, or 800-916-4997 for information about the die-cast cars.

Questions And Answers About Recalled Toys

What's the latest news?

Earlier this month, Mattel, the world's largest toy company, announced the recall of 1.5 million Fisher-Price toys, including Sesame Street and Dora the Explorer products, because they contained excessive amounts of lead paint. The recall involved toys made in China and sold in the U.S. between May and August.

On Tuesday, Mattel expanded the recall of Chinese-made products to include nearly 500,000 more toys containing "impermissible levels of lead."

The toys are die-cast Sarge cars, related to a character from the movie "Cars." They were manufactured between May and July; 253,000 were marketed in the U.S.

Mattel also extended its previous recall of magnetic toys to encompass 18.2 million toys, including Polly Pocket, Batman and Doggie Day Care toys. The toys were sold before January and contained magnets that could be swallowed.

What should I do with the toys?

Remove these products from children's possession immediately. Contact Mattel if you would like to receive a replacement toy; you will get a voucher for up to the value of the returned product. Call Mattel at 800-916-4997 any time or visit the firm's Web site at service.mattel.com. For a complete list of recalled toys, check at goto.seattlepi.com/r921 or cpsc.gov.

Should I be concerned about lead?

Surface paints on the recalled toys could contain excessive levels of lead, the Consumer Safety Product Commission says. Lead is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause brain damage, behavioral and learning problems, slowed growth, hearing difficulties and other issues. Lead is probably the leading concern when it comes to the health of young children, said Richard Fenske, a professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at the University of Washington. Lead accumulates in the body and is not easily removed, especially because children younger than 6 have no blood-brain barrier. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the most common sources of lead exposure for children are chips and particles of old lead paint. But children are more commonly exposed by swallowing house dust or soil contaminated by leaded paint than by swallowing paint chips. Some Mexican candy also contains lead. To learn more about lead poisoning and find links featuring the candy, visit goto.seattlepi.com/r922.

What should I do if I think my child has lead poisoning?

If your child has been chewing or mouthing one of these recalled toys, Eric Ossiander, an epidemiologist with the state Department of Health, recommends you consult your family doctor about a blood lead test. The test would show whether the child has had recent exposure to lead.

There's not much medical treatment available except for extreme cases of lead poisoning, but he said, "If a child has lead poisoning, it's good information for a parent to have." Each year nearly 5,000 Washington children test for lead and about 1 percent show elevated blood levels, he said. In 2006, 52 kids were found to have lead poisoning.

What if my child's blood tests positive for lead?

Most insurance companies will cover blood tests for children younger than 5, said Lee Dorigan, regional lead coordinator for the environmental protection agency at Public Health -- Seattle & King County. If lead is present in the child's blood sample, Public Health will examine the child's primary and secondary environments to search for the lead source. Caregivers can test for lead on their own with color-coded strips that can be bought in paint and home repair stores. The strips will change color if lead is present, but they will not reveal the amount of lead.

Public Health will inform the caregiver how to remove the lead source. The child will have blood tests until physicians have determined that the lead has exited their body. Dorigan does not expect any lead poisoning cases from the recall to surface for 6 to 8 months, when toddlers go in for their annual checkups.

-- Phuong Cat Le and Laura Geggel

Toys Recalled For Magnet, Lead Hazards Since 2005

MAGNETS

About 7.3 million Polly Pocket play sets, imported by Mattel, recalled Tuesday. About 2.4 million Polly Pocket play sets were recalled Nov. 21, 2006.

About 1 million Doggie Day Care play sets, imported by Mattel, recalled Tuesday.

About 683,000 Barbie and Tanner play sets, imported by Mattel, recalled Tuesday.

About 345,000 Batman and One Piece action figure sets, imported by Mattel, recalled Tuesday.

About 800 Mag Stix magnetic building sets, distributed by Kipp Brothers, recalled July 5.

About 8,800 toy townhouses, distributed by Small World Toys, recalled May 3.

About 3.8 million Magnetix building sets, imported by Rose Art Industries Inc. (new owner is Mega Brands Inc.), recalled March 31, 2006. An additional 4 million sets were recalled April 19.

About 30,000 Link-N-Lite magnetic light-up puzzles featuring Disney and Spider-Man characters, imported by Jazwares Inc., recalled Feb. 15.

About 40,000 sets of MagneBlocks magnetic construction toys, distributed by Geometix International LLC, recalled Jan. 18.

LEAD

About 253,000 "Sarge" toy cars, imported by Mattel Inc., recalled Tuesday.

About 967,000 plastic preschool toys including Big Bird, Elmo, Dora and Diego characters, imported by Fisher-Price Inc.

About 13,000 toy sets, imported and retailed by AAFES (Army & Air Force Exchange Service) and recalled July 18. Another 3,000 toy sets were previously recalled May 23.

About 1.5 million Thomas & Friends wooden railway toys, imported and distributed by the RC2 Corp., recalled June 13.

About 4,500 toy drums, imported by The Boyds Collection Ltd., recalled May 30.

About 5,000 bamboo game sets, imported by Target, recalled May 2.

About 7,200 stuffed balls, manufactured by Regent Products Corp., recalled March 28.

About 128,700 toy sets, imported and retailed by Toys "R" Us Inc. and recalled March 13.

About 190,500 toy play sets, imported and distributed by Target, recalled Nov. 15, 2006.

About 340,000 bendable dog and cat figures, distributed by Fun Express Inc., a subsidiary of Oriental Trading Company Inc., recalled Aug. 17, 2006.

About 20,800 dinosaur and doggie flashlights, manufactured by The Little Tikes Co., recalled March 1, 2006.

About 140 Maptangle World Edition Floor Mat Map Games, manufactured in Taiwan (floor mat only) and distributed by Hidden Hills Productions Inc. The product was recalled Aug. 25, 2005.

About 438,000 fishing poles featuring cartoon characters, distributed by Shakespeare Fishing Tackle Division, recalled June 17, 2005.

About 1.5 million toy fishing poles featuring cartoon characters, distributed by W.C. Bradley/Zebco Holdings Inc. doing business as Zebco, recalled April 13, 2005.

About 220,000 Nu-Tronix Karaoke Cassette Player/Recorder, distributed by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., recalled April 13, 2005.