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Dangerous toys identified throughout New York area before the holidays

New York – A public safety advocacy group has published a list of hazardous and toxic toys that are for sale in local stores in our area. The list is just a sampling of dangerous children and baby toys that have been discovered on shelves but experts say many other unsafe products are also out there. Public outcries against the dangers of many products and toys that present hazards for people, especially kids, have become a tradition around the holiday time every year. Activists have been arguing for years that manufacturers, importers and retail stores each must each be held responsible for injuries or deaths caused by products they produce and sell. Regulations and laws regarding the production, import and sale of products, especially toys, have been in place for a long time but are often negligently ignored. Some of the dangers noted with the toys include small pieces that are choking hazards, small magnets and poisonous or toxic paints and additives that children can ingest. Special labeling is required on toys with small parts that kids can choke on. Experts say that several toxic substances have been identified that can cause illness or even death, including lead poisoning, arsenic, cadmium and phthalates. These poisons have been outlawed from use in paints or consumer objects, especially toys or products used for children. However, many products continue to be analyzed and found to contain these illegal substances, often imported for countries with more lax laws, such as China. U.S. customs continues to work hard to stop this problem but require the cooperation of the stores selling them as well as the importing companies. Check out more on the dangerous situation lurking in local toy stores here.

Photo by Poindexter Propellerhead at the English language Wikipedia [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0], from Wikimedia Commons