Toy bills would put a near-ban on lead

washington -- Lead would be virtually banned from toys and other goods used by children younger than 6 under bills introduced Wednesday by Democrats in both chambers of Congress after a rash of recalls of lead-contaminated products.

Lead in toys has come under scrutiny by U.S. lawmakers and advocacy groups after recent recalls of millions of Chinese-made toys by Mattel Inc. and other companies, due mainly to excessive levels of lead.

Criticizing the “longtime failure” of the Consumer Product Safety Commission to protect children from lead, five Democrats including Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, a presidential candidate, offered bills in the Senate and the House.

“Lead in children’s products is dangerous and unnecessary,” said Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

“This is the kind of simple, common-sense action the Consumer Product Safety Commission should have taken years ago,” Waxman said.

Democrats joining Waxman in introducing the House bill were Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, Rep. Bobby L. Rush of Illinois and Rep. Christopher Carney of Pennsylvania.

Obama introduced a similar bill in the Senate.

Just last week, more than half a million Chinese-made children’s products were recalled due to dangerous levels of lead paint, including 269,000 of RC2 Corp.’s popular Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway toys.

In June, nearly 1.5 million Thomas & Friends trains were recalled due to unsafe levels of lead, which poses a serious health risk to young children if ingested.

More recently, recalls over lead concerns in Chinese-made items have included gardening toys, toy jewelry and children’s puppet theaters.