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Kids' Jewelry, Notebooks Join Recall List

Posted: 2007-08-23 07:08:01

NEW YORK (Aug. 23) - Excessive amounts of lead paint on toys and other children's products led the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue a recall of more than 300,000 Chinese-made items on Wednesday.

The recall includes about 250,000 SpongeBob SquarePants address books and journals because they may have excessive levels of lead paint on their metal spiral bindings.

SpongeBob is a popular cartoon character from the hit show that airs on Viacom Inc.'s Nickelodeon cable channel.

The CPSC said the books, which were imported by privately held Martin Designs Inc, were sold at stores across the U.S. between June 2006 and July 2007 for about $2.

The latest round of recalls involving goods made in China comes amid heightened scrutiny of Chinese exports following Mattel Inc's recall of millions of toys last week -- including 436,000 die-cast toy cars because their paint may have contained too much lead.

Chinese officials have been quick to say that the vast majority of China's goods meet quality standards despite concerns over the safety of its food, drugs, tires and toothpaste exports.

Independent toy industry consultant Christopher Byrne said the latest recalls will further undermine consumer confidence in product safety in the short term, but said they ultimately show the system to keep toxic products out of the marketplace works.

"Recalls are not uncommon for toys and children's products. They're not uncommon with products across the board."

Lead paint can cause brain damage in children when ingested.

The CPSC also issued a voluntary recall of Thomas and Friends and Curious George spinning tops and pails because paint on their wooden handles might have had unacceptable amounts of lead.

The recall involves about 66,000 spinning tops and 4,700 pails sold in gift shops across the U.S. between July 2001 and July 2002. The items were imported by Schylling Associates Inc, a private company based in Massachusetts.

The CPSC, meanwhile, asked consumers to return children's charm bracelets imported by New Jersey-based Buy-Right Designs Inc and metal jewelry brought in by TOBY N.Y.C. because both products possibly contain excessive lead levels.

The recall includes about 7,900 children's Divine Inspiration charm bracelets sold between August 2006 and May 2007 and nearly 14,000 Toby & Me Jewelry sets sold at TJX Cos Inc's T.J. Maxx and Marshalls chains, as well as by A.J. Wright.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

2007-08-23 07:08:01

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69 comments

clarinetcutie30 08:42:25 PM Aug 30 2007

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Spell check, where art thou?..

*borders
*China-made
*don't
*no space between "system" and the comma
*"...the health problems that our kids face today..."
*finally

kingdavid30297 03:56:01 PM Aug 30 2007

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This is a pure sign why we should close our boarders to china made products and all that dont respect our system , bring the jobs back to the USA and watch our crime rate drop and the heath problems that are kids face today will finaly be under control....we should write our voted reps and tell them close our boarders to import junk....

stocksshocks 08:38:02 AM Aug 24 2007

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No more made in China products for me. I don't need the toxins. I'll either do without or buy the American version. Sometimes you get what you pay for.

lholl61707 07:33:00 PM Aug 23 2007

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lead paint was always a problem in the structal steel industry the painter came down with lead painters coliclanded in the hospital

lholl61707 07:33:00 PM Aug 23 2007

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lead paint was always a problem in the structal steel industry the painter came down with lead painters coliclanded in the hospital

lholl61707 07:33:00 PM Aug 23 2007

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lead paint was always a problem in the structal steel industry the painter came down with lead painters coliclanded in the hospital

bee2slick 07:22:06 PM Aug 23 2007

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HEY BE CAREFUL THEY WILL CUT US OFF! i STOPPED BUYING CHINA ALONG TIME AGO!

toilelibrary 06:24:47 PM Aug 23 2007

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I read a comment that poor people buy these toys from Dollar Stores. Is this person so misinformed?

Rjhj27 06:24:24 PM Aug 23 2007

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In reference to the person who posted about these recall products being sold in dollar stores to low income families, they have obviously never purchased the toys on the list. Our child has over 37 items on the list and none were bought from the dollar store. They range in price from $4.00 to $60.00 for the Dora dollhouse. These are NOT cheap toys and are not only affecting low income families. It affects everyone. I do agree that we should keep jobs here for our people, or at least for those who want employment. Lets face it, some people just do not want to work. Why would they, when they can get free housing, food, etc. from our tax dollars. Americans need to wake up and remember the values and ethics this country was built on.

jcswls6195 06:23:14 PM Aug 23 2007

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We should be able to see the end result of importing items that could be manufactured in the U.S. The end result being when we run out of jobs for Legal!! Americans. We will simply have no money to spend on imports, so we can boycott imports or just watch our Once!! great nation disolve.

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69 comments