What We Want Most for Christmas

Protect children from dangerous toys! Well, that’s an admittedly loaded statement in so many ways. But one thing I think we can agree on is that nobody wants to give their kids toys loaded with lead or other toxic materials.

Reports today say that tests by Michigan-based Ecology Center, a consumer and environmental health organization, found that more than one-third of 1,200 toys tested contained potentially unhealthy levels of lead and other harmful chemicals such as mercury, cadmium, and arsenic.

Some toys contained five times the level of lead considered safe.

Millions of toys have been recalled this year, mostly those manufactured in China, but toys made in the United States have been found with dangerously high levels of lead and other chemicals as well.

To aid concerned parents and help protect the health of children, who are much more susceptible to the ill effects of lead and chemical exposure than adults, the Ecology Center has published a website at HealthyToys.org.

Anyone considering giving a toy to a child this holiday season (or anytime) may want to make this website their first stop.
(Note: As of this writing, it appears the website is getting hit pretty hard. It may take a few seconds, or one or two clicks on the “reload” button in your browser, to get the site to load. It’s probably worth the wait)

Sources and Further Reading:
Environmental News Network
Reuters
AlterNet