Southeastern Louisiana University

Toy Safety Information

8/16/07  Lori Smith

Government Information on Toy Safety

Mattel has recently recalled millions of children’s toys due to dangers from paint that contains unsafe levels of lead, or from the presence of small magnets that could come loose and be swallowed.  More information about these recalls can be found on the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) web site at:

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prerel.html

Or at:

http://www.recalls.gov/

For statistics on the numbers of deaths and injuries caused by toys each year, see:

http://www.cpsc.gov/LIBRARY/data.html

To read an article that gives a brief description of the safety testing done on toys by the CPSC, see page 4 of this publication:

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/cpsr_nws35.pdf#page=4

To read a selection of publications from the CPSC on toy safety and the safety of other products used by children, see these pages:

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/toy_sfy.html

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/chld_sfy.html

To read a recent article about how U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seize dangerous or counterfeit toys before they enter the country, see:

http://www.customs.ustreas.gov/xp/CustomsToday/2006/March/toyland.xml

To read about the signs and symptoms of lead poisoning, see this page from the National Library of Medicine’s MedlinePlus site:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/leadpoisoning.html

To read about the damage that can be done to children if they swallow small magnets, see these pages:

http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PREREL/prhtml07/07163.html

http://www2a.cdc.gov/podcasts/media/pdf/mmwr5_122906_transcript.pdf