Children Burned by Stuffing in ‘Patch Kid’ Doll

More than a dozen elementary school students here were treated for burns on the hands after they touched the yarnlike stuffing from a counterfeit Cabbage Patch doll, school officials said Thursday.

The fifth-graders suffered injuries ranging from irritated skin to first-degree burns when the doll’s stuffing fell out during a recess Tuesday, according to Bruce Shyer, principal of Neil Armstrong Elementary School.

The cloth doll, identified as a “Patch Kid,” is an imitation of the popular “Cabbage Patch Kid.”

Counterfeit dolls such as the “Patch Kid” drew warnings from health officials last month after tests revealed that many of them contained traces of potentially harmful chemicals, Dr. Shirley Fanin, associate director of communicable diseases control for Los Angeles County Health Services, said Thursday.

Complaints at the school began when the doll’s head broke off and stuffing flew out on the school playground during the lunch break. Several students helped the doll’s owner restuff the toy, but minutes later they broke out in rashes and itching.

School officials said the doll’s multicolored stuffing emitted a strong, irritating odor, and the students quickly developed what appeared to be an allergic reaction.

The symptoms subsided by Tuesday evening and all the students returned to school Wednesday, Shyer said.

Marvin Overfield, father of the doll’s owner, said he bought two “Patch Kid” dolls for his 5- and 10-year-old daughters at a Christmas boutique that operated out of a Lakewood home.

Thought Authentic

“At $48 dollars each, I thought they were real,” Overfield said. “But it was my 10-year-old daughter who told me it was a fake. They never really smelled until the head broke off. You would think you’d be able to buy a toy without having it be chemically dangerous. ‘Cabbage Patch’ is just a bad word around here.”

“The dolls are a real phenomenon here,” Shyer said. “They’re popular with all our students; even the boys have them. We used to have a day when students would be allowed to bring them to school, but after this, I don’t think so.”

Meanwhile, county health officials said that tests on counterfeit Cabbage Patch dolls seized at a La Mirada swap meet last month revealed traces of kerosene, pesticides and polyclorinated biphenyl (PCB). Both kerosene and PCBs are suspected carcinogens.

Tests by the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission found that, while the presence of kerosene, pesticides and PCBs were unnecessary and objectionable, they were not in sufficient amounts to be a health hazard to children.

Questions Conclusions

Fanin questioned those conclusions.

”. . . Those chemicals should not even be found on or in toys--particularly dolls which children often sleep with close to their face. The danger is especially strong among young children, who often suck on their toys in their sleep. . . . I can’t understand why there’s any disagreement that dolls which contain residue of PCBs and pesticides or kerosene aren’t considered inappropriate for use by children.”

“Kerosene doesn’t burn skin like that,” said Dr. Ira H. Monosson, an expert in internal medicine and toxicology. “Even if you had very sensitive skin and dipped both hands into a pail of kerosene, I wouldn’t expect that kind of reaction. Especially after such a brief handling like that.

“If they tested one doll and found nothing and this doll broke open and caused this kind of reaction, it makes me wonder if they shouldn’t possibly conduct more tests to see if this was the worst of the chemicals.”

Lee Baxter, western regional director of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, said that in light of the Diamond Bar incident his officers will investigate the matter further.