Babies, Parenting, Child Health, Infant Nutrition

Child Development – Senate Weighs Consumer Product Safety Commission Shakeup over Lead Tainted Toys

06.03.2008 | 6:47:05 pm | Posted by admin

By Colleen Hurley, RD, Certified Kid’s Nutrition Specialist

child development, baby products The year of toy recalls has prompted parents to push for change in toy manufacturing. Although it feels as though progress may be moving a snails pace, change may be on the horizon. A recent article in the San Diego Times reveals that the Senate is voting on a bill to increase funds for the Consumer Product Safety Commission as early as Thursday.

Purchasing a 25 cent toy from a gumball machine, a Redmond, Oregon couple was unaware of the harm it could cause. Their 4 year old son swallowed the trinket and was nearly fatally poisoned from the amount of lead the toy contained. Even after 4 years of therapy, tests, and surgeries; the boy still has elevated lead levels in his bloodstream. Hundreds of stories like this one have finally prompted Congress to overhaul the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The CPSC is responsible for ensuring that toys are not hazardous.

The Senate is to vote on a bill that would increase the agency’s staff to 500 employees by 2013 as well as double their budget. In addition, the bill would ban lead from children’s products and establish a public database of illnesses, injuries, or deaths from any consumer related products.

While everyone can certainly agree safety regulations need to be enhanced, the legislation is brewing with controversy. In December, the House passed its own version of the bill entitled 407-0, but the Senate’s bill is marked differently. The Senate proposes the creation of an illness-related database and to increase the maximum fines to $20 million; while the House would like the CPSC to create a study to determine how to create the database and cap fines at $10 million.

The White House and a few Republicans are against some of the tougher standards in the Senate’s bill, but concur that trying to pass 2 different versions would only slow things down. The President has not claimed the bills will be vetoed, but did issue a statement saying certain aspects cause the administration “concern″. One of the major concerns about the bill is the third party toy testing requirement; as the White House feels it could disrupt children’s product imports. Most parents feel change cannot come soon enough. The House bill is H.R. 4040, the Senate bill is S. 2663 and they can be accessed at thomas.loc.gov.

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