The biggest Halloween scare--lead-laden stuff Posted by Don Mays at 10/26/07 12:56 PM

So let's recap. Retailers and manufacturers are taking a look at items on store shelves. That's great.

They continue to find more items with lead-laden paint, particularly those plastic buckets we buy for our kids to use Trick-or-Treating. That's not so great.

Yesterday, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled 142,000 plastic buckets with a green witch design because the green paint contains excessive levels of lead. Before that, the agency called for the return of 55,000 white skull pails, also designed for kids to carry on their Halloween trick-or-treat outings. And on October 14th, Dollar General and the CPSC pulled down 63,000 green, skull shaped drinking cups due to excess lead in the paint used for the eyes.

So what should you do in the few days before Halloween? Well, you can use the best home lead test kits to check the items your kids will use on Halloween. Or your kids can trick-or-treat using items unlikely to be encumbered by lead-laden paint, like paper grocery bags.

And of course, you should take a moment to help us pass real safety reforms that will stop the unsafe imports from reaching our store shelves in the first place. Just click on "Take Action" above. If you have already sent your letter to Congress, tell your friends and family to visit www.notinmycart.org so they can help out, too!

Spelling correction made, 10/29/2007--thanks to our good readers for pointing it out! :)

comments (19)

1 Posted by Biffa at 10/29/07 10:46 AM

What is a "scull"?

2 Posted by Monica at 10/29/07 11:40 AM

When I contacted my congressman and 2 senators about the unsafe products coming out of China and into our homes, all replied that while it is important to oversee the safety of Americans, we have to be careful not to offend the Chinese government because trade with China is SO important to the U.S.! I can't even find American-made products anymore! Am I angry? I am livid!

3 Posted by MacMom at 10/29/07 11:58 AM

Oh goodness gracious! How about an article on the failure of our schools? No one can spell any more!

LOL!

A scull is a light racing boat for one rower!!! With this in mind, the above recall description conjures-up a very funny image!

4 Posted by ello at 10/29/07 12:29 PM

a scull is a skull

5 Posted by Roxy Callison at 10/29/07 02:03 PM

Who NEEDs all this plastic environmentally hazzardous wasteful crap anyway? Don't buy it, period, with or without lead paint.

6 Posted by Julissa at 10/29/07 11:43 PM

American companies are going to continue purchasing in China and also from many other countries all over the world because American consumers expect inexpensive merchandise. Many other countries in the world also purchase in China and it should be taken into consideration that an item not made in China may have components that are made in China. Merchandise from anywhere may contain unsafe levels of lead. Retail companies in the United States may have terms with their suppliers agreeing that an item will not have an unsafe amount of lead; however, when the item is received it may actually contain unsafe levels of lead. Implementing safety reforms and legislation banning lead in products sold in the US market is a good way to get American retail companies to look closer at the products that they are importing and even educate their suppliers on the importance of a lead-safe item. Banning the importation of anything from any where causes financial strain on American retail companies. We, as Americans, should accept that we are part of a world market and as consumers, we should help to establish a safe world marketplace by educating our trade partners - not banning them.

7 Posted by at 10/30/07 11:26 AM

this email has 2 articles for letters to congress. the articles are stopped with a no certificate warning

8 Posted by cut the crap at 11/01/07 05:25 PM

I am so totally in agreement with Roxy Callison at 10/29/07 02:03 PM who wrote:

Who NEEDs all this plastic environmentally hazzardous wasteful crap anyway? Don't buy it, period, with or without lead paint.

We buy and buy and buy absolute CRAP that we don't need and end up throwing away, and we and our environment suffer from its production and demise. Let's just stop all of this senseless consumerism of cutesy stuff that has a short shelf life in our homes and ends up with a long shelf life in our environment.

9 Posted by myna johnstone at 11/01/07 05:53 PM

I agree with Roxie. I believe we need to go even further and set a Consumer Control Board that screens products before they are mass produced. American retailers can choose to sell only environmentally nontoxic and sustainable items. Consumers can choose only envirofriendly items.Gimmicks and gadgets abound. Consumers are also left pulling apart the
packaging and having to sort for recycling.

10 Posted by Walt at 11/01/07 05:54 PM

With the incredible fears generated by lead in toys, why is there no great outcry to the same Agency and politicians to rid us the "lead" which is far more dangerous to us all and which serves no purpose in our present society but to injure folks. That is the "lead" pumped by bullets from guns. Let everyone keep their guns, just no bullets that could kill or injure someone. Replace them with rubber or less. It may take a bit to reduce the number in circulation, just as it would for lead toys. Yet most adults over 40 have been subjected to everything imaginable without horrible effect. Nonetheless bullets each day lead the "news" in the deaths and injuries to those hit intentionally and supposedly unintentionally. This may smack with a bunch of folks that someone have the lame logic that lead in toys is much more dangerous, yet it simply discloses lack of resourcefulness and thought process. I've listened to many democrats (and other politicians) saying all kinds of things about how the current administration reducing spending for the Agency has destroyed it. Yet what backbone do any of them have? What exctly are they going to do? Is the purpose to increase funding and get rid of unsafe products that cause injury and harm? Of course not - they don't have the courage or fortitude! May be there will a nonbinding resolution about nothing to do with anything! The current administartion will not be changing it -who and what will be changing? Try getting rid of bullets to save the majority in our cities! Blamee is easy, change is courageous.

11 Posted by Ellen at 11/01/07 06:23 PM

Two sources for safe stuff - both have sites where things can be ordered on the WEB. First is Re-Useable Bags - save the environment and buy sippy cups and bottles for children and adults that are safe. Second, google under American wooden toys. There is a great site in Vermont that sells lovely, non-toxic toys; everything from rattles, to pull toys, to beautiful hard maple blocks, to wooden train sets. The best.

12 Posted by Marcus at 11/01/07 06:28 PM

One everyone missed: A plastic jack-o-lantern from Walmart. Bought one for the grandkids, got it home, and buried inside the tag in tiny print was a warning that the cord contained dangerous amounts of lead! THE CORD! Was it painted? Was the lead baked into the plastic? WHY WASN"T THE WARNING IN RED LETTERS ON THE OUTSEDE OF THE TAG?

I am, of course, livid. I caught it, but most people wouldn't have. It was a "decorative item", and thus not subject to the requirements for toys.

It nauseates me that this government has run up such a budget imbalance with China that we can no longer afford to impose safety requirements because we can't afford to have the debt they own cashed in. If anything in this world counts as treason this ought to.

13 Posted by Robert at 11/01/07 08:18 PM

This letter emailed to my Congressman

Dear Representative Allen,

My family attended a Halloween party on Saturday at a close
friend's house. She made up gift bags for all the kids and prize
bags for some of the contests she had planned. My son received a set of "Ugly teeth" in the gift bag and we played with them for
part of that evening after we got home. On Monday we received an email from a friend about the recall. Needless to say that I was pretty upset. We've had to return Thomas Train toys, dog food and cat food, and watch Consumers Union emails like a hawk. HOW do we get protection from the rush to maximize profits? Your leadership, that's how! Our government is supposed to provide us with these very types of protections against what amounts to corporate greed!

I urge you to co-sponsor The Safety Assurance for Every (SAFE)
Consumer Product Act.

It is unacceptable to increase imports of products from
countries with poor safety records while decreasing the ability
of our Consumer Product Safety Commission to keep unsafe
products off our shelves.

Today, I can't be confident that the products I buy are safe for
kids. The SAFE Consumer Product Act will help restore that
confidence.

Please stand for our safety, and not for the multinational
corporations that care more about their profits than our safety.

My family is priceless. I demand that my tax dollars be used to
protect them from corporate greed. How can I be an educated
consumer when profits guide corporate ethics? Your leadership is how!

Sincerely,
Robert .....

14 Posted by Renae at 11/02/07 09:35 AM

I had two jack o lanterns with leaded power cords. I couldn't recycle them, so in the trash they went. CONSUMERS HAVE THE POWER to not purchase CRAP THIS NOT SAFE. Lead is not allowed in anything in the state of California, so why is it safe anywhere else in the US? POLICY cannot change until WE DEMAND IT. If you shop at walmarts and other places that sell MOSTLY CHINESE AND IMPORTED stuff that isn't even safe to have in your house without risk to your health (like cheaply wired lamps and lead tainted stuff) then I say you are getting what you paid for. Cheap, unsafe and not made by American hands to American Standards. BUY AMERICAN. Pay a little more for crying out loud. If you really need that new dvd player or a new television every year then you should be prepared to pay an honest price for it. Imported products are not honest and they are coming to realize that they are not safe either adn the reason is simple: Imports are not made to the same standards that American products are made. Finally, every time you buy a Chinese made product you are supporting COMMUNISM with this idealistic notion that our dollars over there are somehow making life better for it's citizens by providing them employment. What the hell has happened to our country when in public we say Comunnism is evil and on the other hand we contribute to it every day with our American Dollars? Think before you take out your wallet.

15 Posted by joan e dugan at 11/02/07 10:00 PM

I have decided to do without all the seasonal crap that China sends us. It looks garish and cheap. I'll go into my yard and pick fresh greens and use them for decorations. My life feels less cluttered already.Whew! I can no longer trust the consumer agencies to be on my side. They clearly work for big business.

16 Posted by victoria at 11/07/07 03:11 PM

As a mother, I am horrified at this country. How can America not protect it's children? We daily hear reports on the news of child molestation, child endangerment, and child abuse - how can this happen in the home of the brave and land of the free? Next, we are allowing another country to poison our kids? Or should I say, we are poisoning our own kids and we are paying to do it!!! I am voting with my AMERICAN dollar this holiday season, and will not buy China things!!

I have searched the web to find a list of toys that have been tested for lead & passed. Why can't we get a list like this? I have taken all of my children's painted toys away. I'd like to see a list of toys that passed testing, so maybe I can give some of these back to them. Does anyone know of a list like this?

17 Posted by rico265 at 11/12/07 02:18 PM

Isn't there a way to get a class action lawsuit against U.S. companies that bring products in from overseas that are dangerous or unsafe ?? These company executives only care about making a profit and not about consumer safety.WE NEED TO STOP BUYING CHINESE MADE PRODUCTS!!! THEY ARE PROVEN TO BE UNSAFE!! WE NEED TO MAKE ALL AMERICAN COMPANIES THAT DEAL WITH CHINA ACCOUNTABLE FOR EVERY PRODUCT THEY IMPORT TO THE UNITED STATES.

18 Posted by Kristen at 11/13/07 09:13 AM

There are several companies that support safe Made in China practices, like Melissa and Doug. But truly, we need to all stop desiring cheap crap and be willing to support local businesses and buy safe toys for our kids.

They will survive without the plastic talking toys. We all did just fine.

19 Posted by Bubba at 12/08/07 02:24 PM

Thirty years ago, when we were buying toys for our children, we quickly realized that it was junk. We soon decided to buy handmade toys from local crafters. The county fair was full of beautiful items. After 30 years, the plastic is gone but the handmade, (made in the USA,) are being used by the next generation. Good for our children, good for local artisans, good for the local economy, good for America, and good for generations to come. After all, a wooden train, never goes out of style.