Wednesday, December 05, 2007
New Web site looks at potentially toxic toys
The Ecology Center, a Michigan-based nonprofit environmental organization, has launched a Web site, www.HealthyToys.org, for consumers to get more information about potentially toxic toys.
The center tested 1,200 popular children’s toys for toxic chemicals to inform consumers about products they will be purchasing this holiday season. Parents and other holiday shoppers can now easily search by product name, brand, or toy type to learn how the products rate in terms of harmful chemical content.
“The government is not testing for toxic chemicals in toys, and too many manufacturers are not self-regulating, so we created the nation’s first toy database to help inform and empower consumers,” said Tracey Easthope, MPH, Director of the Ecology Center’s Environmental Health Project. “Ultimately consumers need to compel the federal government and toy manufacturers to eliminate dangerous chemicals from toys.”
Researchers chose to test chemicals such as lead, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), cadmium and arsenic because they have been identified by regulatory agencies as problematic, and because of their association with reproductive problems, developmental and learning disabilities, hormone problems and cancer and because they are found in children’s products. Babies and young children are the most vulnerable since their brains and bodies are still developing and because they frequently put toys in their mouths.
Easthope and other staff members of the Ecology Center are members of UAW Local 38.