CHILDREN'S SAFETY

All of these products contain phthalates

Toy Recalls Highlight Flaws in Consumer Protection System

EDITOR'S NOTE: Lauryn did not write this article. I did. If you have any comments, please send them to me, glennd@bongarde.com.

By Glenn Demby

The rash of consumer product recalls last year earned 2007 the dubious nickname the year of the recall. But it looks like 2008 is going to be even worse. Of particular concern is recalls of toys and children's products. A brand new report issued by consumer advocacy groups like Public Citizen (the group founded by Ralph Nader in 1971) and U.S. Public Interest Research Group details the extent of the problem.

Children's product recalls reached an all time high in 2007-231 recalls affecting 45 million toys and other children's products. In the first six months of 2008, children's products recalls are running at 108, including 53 toys-higher than the 84 recalls at the same time last year. The implication: Last year's toy safety problem continues and, if anything, has gotten worse.

What's being done to address the problem? Last year, Congress significantly increased the budget of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the federal agency designed to protect consumers from unsafe products. It also passed a bill to reform safety standards and inspection procedures. But the legislation has yet to become law.

The consumer groups are calling on Congress to ban a class of toxic chemicals known as phthalates which have been linked to cancer and irregular genital development in boys from use in children's products. The most common phthalate, DINP, is an active ingredient in plastic toys and products like rubber ducks and pacifiers. A number of states, including California, have enacted legislation banning phthalates in toys.

The report also recommends giving states broader authority to protect consumers independently of the CPSC and to provide more protection to employees of manufacturers who blow the whistle on unsafe products.

when I saw the subject of this post I thought it would be something else....sorry if this strays from your origional topic, Bob...

Anyhoo- I was working in a residential subdivision yesterday and there was a little kid on a bicycle who was really curious about all the big trucks and working going on.  you know, typical kid...lots of questions - what's that do?  how does that work?  WOw - you can make that big arm move? etc...

I remember being that little kid and no one ever told me to go away...but I don't know if I trust the caliber of current construction labor in the residential market as they don't have any sense of safety and they'll hire any guy fresh out of prison...or south of the border.  It was a tough call for me but I had to tell the kid to stay off the street and away from the machinery.  I figured if he kept a safe distance he could still watch everything and not pick up any new vocabulary words.

That's what I thought when I saw 'children's safety'

I had a little kid wanting to hold the hose the other day with his dad. I had to tell them no. I could live with spraying concrete on his 6' dad but not him..Concrete pumping is no place for youngsters.

he right job sites are no place for kids