KINGSTON (Nov. 22, 2006) − To coincide with the Black Friday kickoff of the holiday shopping season, HKQ Kids has again partnered with The U.S. Public Interest Research Group to promote its groundbreaking annual report, “Trouble in Toyland,” which details potential hazards posed by toys on the shelves for this holiday season.

   This year, a representative of U.S. PIRG will be talking about the group’s findings on Magic 93 FM on Friday, Nov. 24, with deejay Frankie Warren and HKQ Kids spokeswoman Attorney Michelle Quinn. Free copies of the 21^st annual “Trouble in Toyland” report will be available for download at the HKQ Kids web site, www.hkqkids.org.

   “Many consumers don’t realize the toys they buy for their little loved ones may be dangerous,” said Attorney Quinn. “The ‘Trouble in Toyland’ report identifies toys on store shelves that cause injuries or death by choking, strangulation or toxicity. We hope that by helping to 

raise public awareness of this report, we can educate the people of Northeastern Pennsylvania to avoid potentially hazardous toys.”

   According to the most recent data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), nearly 73,000 children under the age of five were treated in emergency rooms for toy-related injuries in 2005.  Twenty children died from toy-related injuries last year.

   “Even one toy-related death is too many, because these deaths are preventable,” said U.S. PIRG Research Director Alison Cassady, author of the report.

   The 21st annual “Trouble in Toyland” report offers safety guidelines for purchasing toys for small children and provides examples of toys currently on store shelves that pose potential safety hazards. U.S. PIRG’s research focused on several categories of toy dangers: toys that pose choking hazards, toys with powerful magnets, toys that contain lead, and toys that pose strangulation hazards. Some of the findings include:

·        Choking Hazards: In 1979, the CPSC banned the sale of toys for children under three if they contain small parts.  The 1994 Child Safety Protection Act required an explicit choke hazard warning on toys with small parts for children between three and six.

o       U.S. PIRG found toys for children under three with small parts and toys with small parts for children under six without the required choke hazard warning.

o       Children continue to choke on toys that meet the letter of the law.  In September, Playskool recalled the Team Talkin’ Tool Bench after two children suffocated when the toy’s oversized plastic nails became lodged in their throats.  U.S. PIRG found several toys on store shelves that have parts shaped like corks or these toy nails that could pose similar suffocation hazards.

   “Toddlers put everything in their mouths,” said Cassady.  “CPSC should make the small parts test more protective of children under three and consider warning labels for toys with parts shaped like corks or the toy nails that caused two children to suffocate.”

·        Magnetic Toys: Toymakers have started using powerful magnets in building toys and magnetic jewelry.  If a child swallows more than one magnet, they can attract each other in the body and cause a bowel obstruction or life-threatening perforation.  A little boy died last Thanksgiving and many others have had life-saving surgery after swallowing magnets from MEGA Brands’ Magnetix toys.

MEGA Brands has modified the design of Magnetix and placed a label on the toy’s packaging warning parents about the dangers of magnets.  U.S. PIRG called on CPSC to require a warning label on all magnetic toys that tells parents to seek immediate medical attention if a child swallows magnets.

·        Lead in Jewelry: Children exposed to lead can suffer delayed mental and physical development or even death.  In February, a four-year-old died of lead poisoning after he swallowed a bracelet charm that contained 99 percent lead.  U.S. PIRG researchers went to just a few stores and easily found four items of children’s jewelry that contain high levels of lead, ranging from 1.8 percent lead to 34 percent lead by weight.

U.S. PIRG called on CPSC to enact and enforce mandatory requirements for jewelry manufacturers, retailers and suppliers to ensure their products do not contain lead.

·        Strangulation Hazards: CPSC has decided to take another look at the dangers posed by water yo-yo balls after a five-year-old Bellevue , Wash. , boy almost suffocated last month when the toy’s stretchy cord wrapped tightly around his neck several times.  CPSC has recorded about 400 injuries to the eyes, face and neck since the water yo-yo ball came on the market three years ago.

U.S. PIRG called on CPSC to follow the state of Illinois ’ lead and ban the water yo-yo immediately.

   HKQ Kids, the Hourigan, Kluger & Quinn Fund for Children’s Advocacy, was founded in 2005 by the law firm of Hourigan, Kluger & Quinn to promote public awareness of issues affecting the safety of children in Northeastern Pennsylvania , and sponsor programs to educate parents, children and the general public about child safety hazards.

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