Obama Bill Would Keep Kids’ Toys Lead Free
Friday, August 3, 2007
Printable FormatFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Ben LaBolt
Almost 1 million plastic toys recalled this week
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today called on Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye and Vice Chairman Ted Stevens to move forward his Lead Free Toys Act of 2007 (S. 1306). This legislation would protect our children from products containing lead. In the letter, Obama raises concerns about the serious and growing issue of lead-contaminated products and requests the Committee’s urgent attention to his bill. Obama originally introduced this legislation in April.
text of the letter is below:
Dear Chairman Inouye and Vice Chairman Stevens:
I am writing to request that the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee mark up the Lead Free Toys Act of 2007 (S. 1306), which I introduced in May, in order to address the serious and growing issue of lead-contaminated children products in this nation.
Just this week, we learned that the toymaker Mattel is recalling 83 types of toys worldwide because the paint in the toys contains excessive amounts of lead. This worldwide recall involves almost 1 million plastic preschool toys, including the popular Big Bird, Elmo, Dora and Diego characters. Fortunately, almost two-thirds of these toys were able to be quarantined before they hit store shelves. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Just one year ago, a 4 year-old child died from lead poisoning after ingesting part of a Reebok bracelet that had a high level of lead.
The Mattel recall is just the latest in a series of high-profile child product warnings or recalls because of lead contamination. In May, Wal-Mart stopped the sale of Baby Connection brand vinyl baby bibs nationwide because these bibs were found to have lead levels that were more than 16 times higher than the legal limit for lead in paint. Incredibly, over 25 recall and safety notices have been issued in the past six months for potentially lead-contaminated children’s products, including toy drum sets, toy bears, jewelry made for kids, and children’s gardening sets.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) leads our national efforts to safeguard our children from potentially dangerous objects. However, the Commission has dragged its feet in aggressively addressing the problem of lead in toys. With respect to the Mattel recall, the CPSC has decided to open an investigation into the matter. However, I believe that the CPSC should be taking proactive steps to prevent lead toys from making it to store shelves.
To address this problem, I have introduced the Lead Free Toys Act of 2007 (S. 1306), which requires CPSC to issue regulations classifying any children’s product containing more than a trace amount of lead as a banned hazardous substance under the Hazardous Substances Act and to issue standards for lead reduction in electronics.
Over 400,000 children in this country are estimated to have high blood lead levels, with risk of serious learning disabilities, behavioral problems, damage to vital organs including the kidneys, brain and bone marrow, and death. It is simply unconscionable that products that pose such a serious and significant danger to children are so prevalent in our department stores and markets. The Lead Free Toys Act of 2007 will help us keep our children safe and healthy, and contribute to national efforts to reduce lead exposure. I request your support and assistance in passing this critical legislation. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama
United States Senator