LANSING – In a move to help parents better protect Michigan's children from toys containing toxic chemicals, State Representative Gary McDowell (D-Rudyard) today announced a plan that will require manufacturers of children's toys and products to report what chemicals they use in the production of toys sold in Michigan. Manufacturers that fail to comply with the reporting requirements will be forced to pay penalties and have their products pulled from the shelves.
"With so many of our products coming from foreign countries, we need some way to monitor what chemicals are used to make them," said McDowell, a sponsor of the plan. "Playing with a toy shouldn't expose a child to dangerous chemicals. The laws regulating these chemicals are inadequate and our children shouldn't have to pay the price because of that."
The legislation, known as the Michigan Children's Safe Products Act, is a seven-bill package designed to give parents the tools they need to protect their children from harmful chemicals. The plan requires the Michigan Department of Community Health (DCH) to create a list of "chemicals of concern" – those known to cause cancer, reproductive or developmental harm, neurological damage or hormone disruption – by 2011.
From this initial list, DCH by 2012 will create and regularly update a list of "chemicals of highest concern" based on their use in children's products and their presence in children, household dust, human breast milk or cord blood. The DCH will make this information easily accessible to the public through a Web site or other means.
Under the plan, large manufacturers and distributors of children's products that contain "chemicals of highest concern" will have to publicly identify what products contain the chemicals, how much they contain and the reason why the chemical is in the product. They also must identify the number of toys distributed for sale in Michigan or nationally.
Manufacturers that don't comply with the rules could see their products pulled off the shelves by the Attorney General and the further sale of those products in Michigan would be prohibited. The plan also encourages DCH, along with the Department of Environmental Quality to participate in an interstate clearinghouse to share information and promote safer alternatives.
Chronic exposure to toxic chemicals in children's toys, such as arsenic, mercury and bromine have been linked to reproductive problems, developmental and learning disabilities, hormone problems and cancer. These chemicals have been found in popular toys such as Dora the Explorer lunch bags, Playskool's Mr. Potato Head, Mattel's Ballerina Barbie, Disney's High School Musical belts and necklaces, and Little Tikes bath letters and numbers.
"Early exposure to toxic chemicals can cause a lifetime of irreparable damages to a child," McDowell said. "Toy recalls are becoming all too common and parents are left to wonder what tainted toys will be next on the list. There are many successful manufacturers that don't use toxins in their products, so there is no reason to support those that are putting poisonous products in our children's hands."