Consumer Alert - Contamination

Dammit, there's more. If you thought you and your kids were safe because you're not buying Mattel toys or Barbie accessories or whatever, prepare for more bad news. The NYT tells us that

Major American retailers, including Target, Limited Too and Dollar General, have found more lead-contaminated children’s products in their inventories but have not yet notified the public, Congressional investigators have determined.

The products have been taken off shelves, documents released on Tuesday by the investigators show. But no recalls have yet been issued for the products, while the Consumer Product Safety Commission investigates or negotiates recall terms.

The disclosures came in response to questions asked by the House the Energy and Commerce Committee of 19 companies that had already recalled Chinese-made products because of lead contamination, including Mattel and RC2, maker of Thomas & Friends toy trains.

[...]

Target disclosed that two products it sold recently — David Kirk Happy Giddy Children’s Garden Trowel and Sunny Patch Safari Children’s Chair — had hazardous levels of lead. It did not say how many of the items were sold before it became aware of the lead contamination in August.

Dollar General said that 192,000 metal key chains appeared to be contaminated, while Tween Brands, owner of Limited Too stores, said it had discovered lead paint on a decorative flower-shaped object included in the wrapping of a shower gel and body lotion set.

Discount School Supply, a retailer based in Monterey, Calif., reported that three products in its inventory that were made in China or Taiwan appeared in preliminary tests to have lead contamination. The items were sold under the names Giant Measuring Chart, Rolling Storage Rack and Shaving Paint Brushes.

Thank the powers that be that Congress is doing some oversight. The previous rubber-stamp Republican Congress must have known this was going on, but they never bothered to conduct any oversight. Goodness knows how many poisonous things sneaked into our homes as a result of their complete rollover for this misadministration.

This makes me furious. You buy stuff for your kids, or your friends' kids, and you assume that you're not going to kill them as a result. Except that's not true anymore, is it? I'm racking my brains wondering, what have I given my friends' kids? Was there anything dangerous? Life-threatening? Poisoned?

From now on, you kids, you all get book vouchers. Hopefully books won't poison you.

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