Magnetic construction sets, necklaces made with lead, a small dump truck and a do-it-yourself fake tattoo kit were among the toys highlighted by an advocacy group Wednesday as being unsafe for children this year.
For the last 21 years, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group has brought attention to unsafe toys commonly sold in stores across the country. The toys typically represent choking or strangulation hazards, have high levels of lead or are made with toxic chemicals.
The group's efforts in past years have resulted in many toys being recalled and increased use of warning labels.
Still, some toys that are still on the market pose choking hazards but do not have warning labels on them, said Monique Davis, a field representative with USPIRG.
As an example, Davis showed a Bob the Builder dump truck that comes with a small toy boulder, which she said she bought at a large retail store in Minneapolis.
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While the boulder is big enough to pass choke test standards set by the U.S. government, Davis said the toy doesn't pass what should be considered household standards.
Government standards say that if a toy can't fit into a small cylinder that resembles a shot glass, it's not considered a choking hazard for children 3 and younger. But Davis pointed out that most people don't have a government cylinder to determine the safety of a toy on their own.
Instead, she recommended parents use a toilet-paper tube. If a toy can fit inside one, it shouldn't be accessible to children 5 and younger.
Another toy the USPIRG claims is a hazard and is available at major retail stores is the I-Tattoo electronic tattoo pen. The box has a small label that said it contains toluene, which Davis said is a known toxic chemical.
Davis said USPIRG also was able to find four necklaces available at dollar stores that contained between 1.8 percent and 34 percent lead, which is known to cause developmental delays, brain damage and even death if ingested by children.
Another problem toy USPIRG highlighted is the Magnetix Building set. The magnets in the set, Davis said, can be harmful if swallowed.
"One magnet swallowed isn't the problem," she said.
However, because the magnets are so strong, if two or more are swallowed they will try to connect with each other in the body, Davis said, which can cut through tissue and cause major damage.
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"Several children have been hospitalized for this," Davis said.
Most Magnetix sets now carry warning labels, but Davis cautioned that some sets still on the market, such as the one she was able to buy recently from a large retail store, do not.
Davis cited statistics from the Consumer Product Safety Commission that show 73,000 children younger than 5 were treated in emergency rooms across the country for toy-related injuries in 2004. In the same year, 16 children died from toy-related injuries.
"These deaths are so easily preventable," she said. "Parents shopping for holiday toys this season should be vigilant."
