Message to Parents
Toys Recalled for Containing Lead
Lead is a hazardous substance that can cause irreversible brain damage in children. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that more than 400,000 children between the ages of one and five have dangerously elevated levels of lead in their blood, many encountering physical problems as the result of playing with toys. The CDC also reports that in 2003, a four-year-old Oregon boy died after swallowing a toy necklace and in February 2006 a four-year-old Minnesota boy died after ingesting a metallic charm. In both cases, the boys died many day after ingesting the objects.
Within the past year, the CPSC has reported 15 instances of companies recalling children’s toys containing lead. Most recently, U.S. Toy Co., of Grandview, Mo., voluntarily recalled 113,800 necklaces shaped like a butterfly because the pendant contained high levels of lead.
