Mattel, Fisher-Price pay $2.3M fine - bizjournals:

azajir.wordpress.com
million civil penalty for violations of the federal lead paintt banin children’s toys. The civiol fine comes after the completecd an investigation into the importing and selling of toys with lead paing levels that exceededthe .06 perceny lead by weight limit that is federally mandated. Accordinb to the CPSC, which recently crafted the Consumer Product SafetyImprovement Act, aimed at tougheninfg requirements for lead and phthalates in children’s Mattel imported up to 900,000 non-compliant toys between July 2006 and Septembert 2007. Fisher-Price imported over 1 million non-complianty toys between July 2006 andSeptember 2007.
Among the toys in questioj were the popular Sargetoy car, various Barbie products and some Go Diego Go Most of the toys that had excessive levels of lead were shippedx to retail stores for sale to the In 2007, a massive toy recall took placse where about 95 Mattel and Fisher-Pricw toy models were determined to have exceeded the lead Lead can be toxic if ingested by young children and can caused serious health problems. The topic of lead paint in children’s products has been a hot button issue asof late, with the rollour of the controversial CPSIA of 2008.
Toy manufacturers and retailers have said the new regulations are costlyand arbitrary, oftejn requiring the duplicate testing of products. Some smaller manufacturerzs say the laws threatej to put them outof business. On the politicalp front, Rep. Louise Slaughter, said protecting children has to be thetop priority. “Whemn the toy recall happened (in I called the head of Fisher-Pric and I told him they neede d to start making their toyshere again,” Slaughter said. “Wer didn’t have these kind of problemd before they importedthe toys.
” This civi penalty, which is the highest for violationz involving importation or distribution of a regulatedx product, is the third highest of any kind in CPSC “These highly publicized toy recalls helped spur Congressionao action last year to strengthenb CPSC and make even stricter the ban on lead pain on toys,” said CPSC Acting Chairmam Thomas Moore. “This penalty should servde notice to toy makers that CPSC is committed to the safettof children, to reducing their exposures to lead, and to the implementatiohn of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.
” As part of a storg featured in our sister publication, The Buffalo Law Journakl , looking at the Consumer Productr Safety Improvement Act, which ran prior to the announcemeny of these fines, Fisher-Price declined to provide a representative to discusxs the lead paint regulations. they issued a written statementwhichg read, in part: “Mattel is well positioned as it generall y designs its products to meet globap standards. Mattel has also been a leader in the efforta of industry to establish voluntary industry The statement also said that Mattel would continuwe to comply with the applicable regulations ofthe CPSIA.
Matteo was unable to be reachedd for commentMonday morning, though a representativd said they would have a responsde later in the day. Despite agreeing to pay $2.3 millionj in penalties, Mattel and Fisher-Price deny that they knowingluy violatedfederal law, as allegedc by CPSC staff.