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NYPIRG NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release:	Contact:
Wednesday, December 3, 2008	Tracy Shelton 917-570-9027 www.toysafety.net; www.nypirg.org

Consumer Group Alerts Shoppers to Hidden Toy Hazards
Calls passage of strong reforms good step forward, but warns “Buyer Beware” this year

New York, NY--Hazardous toys are still sold in stores across New York, despite a new law overhauling the nation’s product safety watchdog agency, according to two toy safety reports released today by the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG). The group also warned that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is taking actions to delay one of the new law’s toxic toy protections indefinitely.
 
“While the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act is a major step forward, many of its protections won’t be in effect until 2009, so it’s still Buyer Beware for this shopping season,” said NYPIRG’s Tracy Shelton. “Worse, recently the CPSC told companies that they could continue to sell toys with toxic phthalate chemicals until they ran out of them, instead of complying with the law’s clear prohibition against selling them after February 10th.”

According to the most recent data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), toy-related injuries sent more than 80,000 children under the age of five to emergency rooms in 2007.  Eighteen children died from toy-related injuries that year.

For 23 years, the NYPIRG’s Trouble in Toyland report has offered safety guidelines for purchasing toys for small children and provides examples of toys currently on store shelves that pose potential safety hazards. NYPIRG’s Ryan Bullerdick reminded parents that the toy list in the NYPIRG report is only a sampling of the potential hazards on store shelves, and urged consumers to shop with a copy of the Tips for Toy Safety, included in the report and at www.toysafety.net.

Today, NYPIRG also released the 2nd annual consumer guide to toxic chemicals in toys, available at www.HealthyToys.org.  Researchers tested over 1,500 popular children’s toys for lead, cadmium, arsenic, PVC and other harmful chemicals in time for this year’s holiday shopping season.  One in three toys tested were found to contain “medium” or “high” levels of chemicals of concern.  
“There is simply no place for toxic chemicals in children’s toys,” said Lani Combier-Kapel, a Hunter College student and NYPIRG Chapter member. “Manufacturers and lawmakers should feel the ongoing and increasing demand for children’s products that are healthy and safe – and ensure they are made without any highly toxic chemicals.” 

At www.HealthyToys.org, parents are able to easily check how products rank from highest to lowest in terms of lead, cadmium and other chemicals that are associated with developmental and learning disabilities, hormone problems and cancer. Toys made with PVC, or polyvinyl chloride, were also tested because they often contain phthalates and other hazardous chemical additives. Babies and young children are the most vulnerable to toxic chemicals since their brains and bodies are still developing and because they commonly put toys into their mouths.

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