BALTIMORE — A local hobby store owner takes exception to a Maryland
public interest group's solution to stemming the tide of unsafe toys on
America's store shelves.
The
Maryland Public Interest Research Group, or Maryland PIRG, recently
urged Congress to pass legislation to bolster the sagging resources of
the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Maryland PIRG is part of a nationwide network of nonprofit, nonpartisan, state-based public interest advocacy organizations.
"There
are three federal bills, one in the Senate and two in the House, that
are attempting to fix the problems at the safety commission," said
David Kosmos, program associate for Maryland PIRG.
Maryland PIRG
on Wednesday released its 22nd annual survey of toy safety, 2007
Trouble in Toyland, that provides safety guidelines for parents when
purchasing toys for small children, with special emphasis on children
under 3.
Toy-related injuries sent almost 73,000 children under
the age of 5 to emergency rooms in 2005, according to the most recent
data from the safety commission.
Twenty children died from toy-related injuries that year, according to Maryland PIRG's report.
The report focused on these dangers:
• Toys that pose choking hazards;
• Magnetic toys that feature small, powerful magnets;
• Toys that are too loud, over 90 decibels;
• Toys that contain lead and other potentially toxic chemicals.
The emphasis on greater resources for the safety commission is what irks Richard Benjamin, owner of the Hobbytown USA franchise on North East Street in Frederick.
Benjamin was an engineer before he retired and started running a hobby store franchise. He is familiar with the Underwriters Laboratory seal for consumer safety.
"Independent labs, such as MET Laboratories in Baltimore, test for consumer safety at the manufacturers' expense," Benjamin said. "UL was not mandated by the federal government, but by the state and local governments. Consumers can pick up an item with the UL seal and know an independent organization, free of manufacturers' influence, has conducted the tests."
Benjamin urged a similar system for state and local governments to set up a testing system for toys. Tests could be run at ports of entry as they are for UL products.
"The Consumer Product Safety Commission could assume more of an advisory and educational role and could arbitrate disputes," he said.
There already is the European Union standard mark, CE, that appears on many toys sold in the United States to certify safety, said Tom England, who owns Dancing Bear Toys with wife, Marlene, on North Market Street in Frederick. All of England's suppliers use the European standard, he said.
CE is a mandatory conformity mark for toys sold in Europe that are tested against the European Standard EN 71.
"For example, the Maryland PIRG report states that regulations should ban toys containing more than 90 parts lead per million, an almost negligible amount," England said. "The report doesn't say that's a European standard. The American standard is 600 parts per million."
Benjamin says a small business like his reacts to recalls as quickly as possible because the retailer is in the same boat as the consumer.
"We didn't know there was a problem; we pull items off the shelf, return them to the manufacturer, and put notices up for the consumer," he said.
Benjamin has two grown sons, five years apart in age. When they were growing up, it was difficult to keep the older son's toys away from the younger son, he said.
"You can't make the world perfectly safe. Parents should exercise due diligence and a reasonable level of good judgment without depending on a federal agency to do it for them" Benjamin said.
"We urge parents to be educated shoppers," said Kosmos, of Maryland PIRG, "but there are other dangers, such as lead and phthalates, that parents can't see in the toys. The Consumer Product Safety Commission plays a very important role in holding manufacturers accountable for these dangers."
Phthalates are a family of chemicals used to soften hard plastics into soft rubber and jelly. The Maryland PIRG report devotes a section to phthalates dangers.
This report is a great resource for people, England said. "Maryland PIRG is a big-time lobby group. The report is well done, and this group won't get the information wrong."
