Toy Industry Policy on Lead in Toys

More than 30 years ago, when lead in toys was first identified as toxic, it was the toy industry which took the lead to protect children. Toy Manufacturers of America (TMA), in cooperation with the American Academy of Pediatrics jointly developed the first toy safety standard limiting lead in paint and similar surface coatings. Manufacturers around the world have limited the use of lead in toys ever since.

The voluntary standard established in the United States under ASTM F-963 and the European standard under EN-71 for soluble lead in toys (lead which may migrate from the toy and be ingested by the child) is 90 parts-per-million. At that level, any intentional use of lead in paints or other surface coatings containing lead would immediately put the toy over the permitted limit.

Under federal law, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) enforces a standard for total lead of 600 ppm. Recently, the CPSC refused to lower the lead limit in paint and other similar surface coating materials to 100 ppm after finding that most paints sold in the United States were already at or below that level and, therefore, these materials did not present an unreasonable risk of injury warranting further government regulation.

The Global Toy Safety Standard now being drafted by the International Standardization Organization (ISO-TCI 181) adopts the standards in force in the United States and in Europe.

Finally, the US Customs Service and the CPSC initiated an inspection project dubbed "Operation Toyland." Trained Customs and CSPC specialists carry out inspections to make sure that all toys brought into the United States conform to CPSC regulations with special focus on lead in paints.

No one disputes the toxic effects of lead. It is poison. It is unthinkable that toy manufacturers, the very people whose mission in life is to provide safe playthings for children, would not be in the forefront of efforts to see that those children come to no harm. Rest assured. They are.