Toys given as holiday gifts often are harmful

Dan Kulin

Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2002 | 11:11 a.m.

Buying the wrong toy can leave children at risk for choking, exposure to toxic chemicals or hearing loss, a national consumer advocacy group said today as it released its annual list of potentially dangerous toys to look out for as the holiday shopping season begins.

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group's "Trouble in Toyland," a list of potentially hazardous toy list, includes more than 30 toys such as children's jewelry sets and balls that are choking hazards; plastic children's books made with potentially dangerous chemicals; and noisy toy guns and other electronic toys.

More than 1,500 toys were tested to come up with the list, PIRG said.

Some of the more recognizable toys on the list were a Buzz Lightyear Blaster and Puppy Phone made by Leap Frog, which were said to be too loud; a Clifford the Big Red Dog wind-up toy and Hello Kitty five-piece stamp set, which contain small parts that could choke a child; and three Random House plastic children's books that contain potentially dangerous chemicals.

Mattel, Sanrio, Hasbro, Random House, the Lego Group and several other toy manufacturers and retailers were unavailable for comment this morning.

The complete list will be posted today on the Internet at www.toysafety.net, said Ben Prochazka, the group's Western states field organizer.

Toy Industry Association spokeswoman Shannon Eis criticized the list, saying the nonprofit advocacy group uses it "as a means of garnering media attention for their other interests."

"Withholding this information for the timely release at their once-a-year press conference does not serve in the best interest of the public or the children who they claim are at risk," she said in a statement.

The statement added that toys that have appeared on PIRG's lists in the past have been tested and found to meet the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission standards. The association offers a toy safety website: www.toyhotline.org.

This is the 17th year PIRG released a list of potentially dangerous toys. Prochazka said the list alerts parents to the potential dangers on toy shelves.

The most dangerous toys are the ones that present a choking hazard, Prochazka said. Those toys can either be small balls, balloons or toys made with small parts.

Parents can test toys themselves to see if they are a choking hazard by trying to put the toy or toy piece through a toilet paper tube, he said.

At least 207 children died from 1990 to 2000 while playing with toys. In 2000, 17 children died playing with toys, six of those from choking, he said.

"Children needlessly choke to death on toys, and toys that pose hazards to children can still be found on store shelves," Prochazka said in a prepared statement.

Eis said this morning that the toy industry regularly works to make toys safer, and "it boils down to proper use of toys and parental supervision."

According to figures from the group, in 2001 an estimated 248,000 people were treated in emergency rooms for toy-related injuries, and 80 percent of those people were younger than 15.

"Children's toys represent a multi-billion dollar industry serving a clientele of infants and small children -- the most vulnerable client base imaginable," Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said in a prepared statement announcing the list. "While few industries seem more innocuous than the toy industry, the age of the client base, and the necessary size and attractiveness of toy components can make for a dangerous combination."

Berkley was expected to join Prochazka and others at University Medical Center this morning to release the list and accompanying report on potentially dangerous toys.

According to the PIRG statement, the potentially dangerous chemicals in some toys are called phthalates, which are added to polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic toys to make them softer. The chemicals have been linked to liver and kidney damage, as well as cancer, the statement said.

The toy association's statement said that 40 years of independent and government research have given toys made from the plastics a clean bill of health.

PIRG said that toys that are too loud make sounds louder than 85 decibels, and according to a 1998 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, almost 15 percent of kids ages 6 to 17 show signs of hearing loss, the statement said.

The report also included warnings about scooters and buying toys over the Internet.

"In an analysis of 45 online toy retailers, PIRG found that no online retailers post the warnings required to appear on in-store products and only two of the 45 included any safety labeling at all, and even these were not posted consistently," the report said.

The report recommended that when using scooters people should wear helmets and pads, ride on smooth paved surfaces without traffic and ride only during the day. Also, children under 12 should not ride motorized scooters, the report said.

Prochazka said the potentially dangerous toys were found by group's staff during visits to stores in October and November.

"We were looking for the most obvious, most apparent threats," he said.

Josh Fletcher, assistant manager at the Kay-Bee Toy & Hobby Shop in the Meadows mall, said while he was not familiar with the PIRG list, such lists can help parents find the right toys for their children.

Fletcher said one of the ways his staff tries to help shoppers be aware of a toy's potential dangers is by making sure the store price tag does not cover warning labels or the label showing the recommended ages for a toy.

Sun reporter

Timothy Pratt contributed to this story.