Tamil Nadu - Chennai   

How safe are children’s toys?

CHENNAI: Every child is at risk to exposure to toys containing lead.

Lead poisoning can cause irreversible brain damage resulting in lower intelligence quotient levels, hyperactivity, developmental delays and aggression. There is no safety level of lead for children. Lead can be found in contaminated soil, water, old paint, inexpensive jewellery and other consumer products.

Though damage to brain caused by lead cannot be reversed, its level in the blood can be reduced to prevent further damage. Early intervention can help reduce long-term effects, according to information provided by the Consumers Association of India, which, in association with the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, organised a one-day seminar here on ‘Children’s toys — How safe are they?”

Association president R. Desikan said nearly 30,000 children in the US had high levels of lead in blood due to exposure to contaminated toys.

Quoting a study, he said 73,000 children under five-years of age suffered toy-related injuries in 2005. Twenty of them died.

In India, no such statistics were available. He cited a CNN-IBN study, which revealed that 65 per cent of toys were contaminated with lead. Of this, 14 per cent was heavily contaminated.

While several countries had safety standards for toys, in India the Bureau of Indian Standards had evolved certain standards, but they were not mandatory.

Mr. Desikan said there was need for regulation and toy standards should be made mandatory in India. The country was becoming a market for unsafe toys.

Inaugurating the seminar, the Joint Secretary in the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Sanjay Singh, said it was for consumer activists and other stakeholders to suggest as to what kind of regulatory mechanism was required for the country to overcome the problem.

There were standards for toys but they were only voluntary.Tamil Nadu Secretary for Food, Cooperation and Consumer Protection, K. Shanmugam, said toy manufacturers were not concerned about poisonous substances in toys.

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