Web site targets dangerous toys
Consumers can check hazards, report items
Parents looking to avoid hazardous toys as they begin their holiday shopping can find quick help in the latest Trouble in Toyland report from the Illinois Public Interest Research Group.
The group unveiled a new interactive smart phone Web site to guide people while they shop for toys. The site lets them check on possible hazards while at the store or on their home or work computer before venturing out to shop. And if consumers discover they bought a dangerous toy or run across one while shopping, they can report it on the site.
There is cause for shoppers to be on the alert. The latest data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission revealed toy-related injuries sent more than 82,000 children under the age of 5 to emergency rooms in 2008. Nineteen died from toy-related injuries last year, the group notes.
The report focuses on three categories: choking hazards; ear hazards, and toxins, lead and other hazards.
Despite a ban on small parts in toys for children under 3, there are still toys available that can cause a child to choke, the report notes.
It also found:
• Many toys tested exceeded 85 decibels, which is higher than the highest volume level recommended by the American Society for Testing and Materials.
• Children's products that contain concentrations of certain toxic compounds of up to 7.2 percent, although earlier this year, toys and other children's products containing more than 0.1 percent of the compounds were banned.