New study reveals hundreds of toys on store shelves are contaminated with lead and other dangerous chemicals

As a parent, it’s frightening to hear just how many toys are contaminated with lead.

A shocking new report issued today by the Ecology Center revealed that hundreds of toys still being sold are contaminated with lead, many with levels higher than the federal recall standard.

Fueled by recent toy recalls (all involving toys manufactured in China), the Ecology Center tested more than 1,200 children’s products for lead and other harmful chemicals.

These are the results:

– 35 percent contained lead

– 17 percent of the children’s products tested had levels of lead above the 600 parts per million federal standard that would trigger a recall of lead paint

– Only 20 percent of the toys and other products had no trace of lead or harmful chemicals

The issue of lead in toys has been in the news a lot lately, and this isn’t the case of the media being alarmist. Lead exposure and ingestion is very dangerous to children, and they’re at a very high risk when they play with lead-tainted toys and put them in their mouth.

Lead poisoning can cause irreversible learning disabilities and behavioral problems and, at very high levels, seizures, coma, and even death.

For a full list of the toys tested and their lead levels, check out The Consumer Action Guide to Toxic Chemicals in Toys. (You may have to try the link several times. Not surprisingly, traffic to the site has been very heavy and the link has been down some.)

For more information on this subject please refer to the section on Defective and Dangerous Products.