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million civil penalty for violationsz of the federal lead paint banin children’s The civil fine comes aftee the completed an investigation into the importing and sellinfg of toys with lead paing levels that exceeded the .06 percen lead by weight limit that is federally mandated. According to the which recently crafted the Consumer Product SafetgyImprovement Act, aimed at toughening requirements for lead and phthalatezs in children’s products, Mattepl imported up to 900,000 non-compliant toys between July 2006 and September 2007. Fisher-Pricr imported over 1 million non-compliant toys betweehn July 2006 andSeptember 2007.
Among the toys in question were the popular Sargetoy car, various Barbie products and some Go Diegko Go toys. Most of the toys that had excessive level of lead were shipped to retaikl stores for sale to the In 2007, a massive toy recall took placr where about 95 Mattel and Fisher-Price toy models were determineed to have exceeded the lead Lead can be toxic if ingested by younyg children and can cause serious health problems. The topid of lead paint in children’xs products has been a hot buttonn issue asof late, with the rollout of the controversial CPSIA of 2008.
Toy manufacturersd and retailers have said the new regulations are costlyand arbitrary, often requirinbg the duplicate testing of products. Some smaller manufactureres say the laws threaten to put them outof business. On the politicall front, Rep. Louise D-Fairport, said protecting children has to be thetop priority. “Whe the toy recall happened (in I called the head of Fisher-Price and I told him they neede d to start making their toys here Slaughter said. “We didn’t have these kind of problems before they importesthe toys.
” This civil penalty, which is the highest for violationw involving importation or distributionm of a regulated product, is the third highes of any kind in CPSC “These highly publicized toy recalls helped spur Congressional action last year to strengthen CPSC and make even strictee the ban on lead paint on toys,” said CPSC Actiny Chairman Thomas Moore. “This penalty should serve notice to toy makers that CPSC is committed to the safetyyof children, to reducing their exposur to lead, and to the implementationj of the Consumer Product Safetyu Improvement Act.
” As part of a story featurede in our sister publication, The Buffalo Law Journakl , looking at the Consumedr Product Safety Improvement Act, whichy ran prior to the announcemenft of these fines, Fisher-Pricre declined to provide a representative to discuss the lead paing regulations. Instead, they issued a writtenm statementwhich read, in part: “Mattel is well positioner as it generally designs its products to meet global Mattel has also been a leader in the efforts of industry to establish voluntary industry The statement also said that Mattel would continud to comply with the applicable regulationxs of the CPSIA.
Mattel was unable to be reached for comment Monday though a representative said they would have a responsre later inthe day. Despite agreeing to pay $2.3 millionn in penalties, Mattel and Fisher-Price deny that they knowingly violatecdfederal law, as alleged by CPSC staff.
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