When Consumer Reports magazine and the Attorney General of Illinois found that a Fisher-Price toy blood pressure cuff contained seven to nine times the legal lead limits, Consumer Program Director Ed Mierzwinski and Illinois PIRG Director Brian Imus took action.
Once the story made headlines, Fisher-Price, which is owned by Mattel, agreed to recall the toy—but only in Illinois! We quickly alerted our members via e-mail. Thousands responded, asking the company to recall the dangerous toy everywhere it was sold. They also asked the company to make up for the mistake by signing on to our corporate safety challenge—a promise to test all toys rigorously and ban dangerous chemicals from products.
So far, Fisher-Price and Mattel haven’t signed on. Their stubborn resistance to change and the lack of substantive reforms from other companies provided more ammunition for our efforts in Congress to strengthen the role and resources of the watchdog agencies.
Incredibly, Nancy Nord, acting director of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, refused additional funds in the midst of recalls and controversies about unsafe products that her agency oversees.
Normally, that would be a tough row to hoe. But together with allies on Capitol Hill, we helped convince Congress to increase the agency’s budget with an appropriation of $80 million—an increase of $17 million over last year and nearly $17 million more than the Bush administration requested for the year.
The next step is to give the CPSC more teeth. In December, the House passed the Consumer Product Safety Modernization Act, which would increase funding and staff for the CPSC, reduce lead in children’s toys, and establish new testing requirements for products. While it is a strong first step, much stronger reforms are needed. The Senate’s version of the bill would give the CPSC greater enforcement authority, require public disclosure of important product hazard information, and levy larger fines for companies that put unsafe products on the market.
Research Confirms Concerns
Shortly before the holiday shopping season began in November, U.S. PIRG released the 22nd annual Trouble In Toyland report.
At 75 news conferences across the country, we joined members of Congress in releasing the report and calling for reforms that would keep these dangerous toys out of the hands of children.
Already, the CPSC has announced the recall of dangerous “Super Magnets,” a problem that we called to its attention. These toys pose an intestinal perforation hazard if swallowed.
