Another Toy Recall - Mattel recalls 9,000,000 toys - Magnets, Lead Paint etc etc.

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http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/14/recall/index.html

BETHESDA, land (CNN) -- Toymaker Mattel is voluntarily recalling 9 million

of its toys including popular characters such as Batman, Barbie, Polly Pockets

and a toy from Pixar's " Cars " movie because of hazards to children, the U.S.

Consumer Product Safety Commission said Tuesday.

Mattel's Barbie and Tanner doll set is one of the products being recalled.

" The company has ordered that all products be pulled off retail shelves, " said

Nord, acting chairman of the commission.

The affected toys include Barbie Doll and Tanner dolls, Batman Magna series

action figures, and Polly Pocket playsets. The commission says they have small,

powerful magnets that can be dislodged and swallowed.

All of the toys were manufactured in China.

Nord said that if more than one magnet is swallowed they could cause intestinal

damage and other injuries.

Also recalled was the " Sarge " die cast toys from the Pixar " Cars " movie

assortment because of hazardous lead paint.

These products were produced by one specific contract manufacturer during a

narrow time frame.

Today's Recall

Barbie and Tanner - hazardous magnet

Batman - hazardous magnet

Polly Pockets - hazardous magnet

Doggie Daycare - hazardous magnet

One Piece - hazardous magnet

Sarge cars - lead in paint

All affected toys were made in China for Mattel

The recalled Sarge Cars were sold individually and in assortment packs in retail

stores nationwide from May 2007 to August 2007. The Sarge character is a small

die cast car measuring about 3 inches in length.

The car is an Army green color and features a white star on the hood. Surface

paint on affected products contains lead in excess of permissible levels.

The company told CNN it is holding its own news conference on Tuesday.

" Nothing is more important than the safety of our children, " said Mattel

Chairman Bob Eckert in an full-page ad published Tuesday in The New York Times,

The Wall Street Journal and USA Today.

" Our long record of safety at Mattel is why we're one of the most trusted names

with parents, " Eckert wrote. " And I am confident that the actions we are taking

now will maintain that trust. "

ForMattel, the parent company of Fisher-Price, it is the second toy recall in

two weeks.

Its Fisher-Price preschool division recalled 1.5 million toys that were made in

China, over worries that their paint may contain too much lead.

The toys included likenesses of Big Bird and Elmo, as well as the Dora and Diego

characters.

Don't Miss

Special: Made in China

Mattel recall page

Consumer Product Safety Commission

" Lead is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health

effects, " according to the CPSC. Lead paint can cause vomiting, anemia and even

neurological damage.

Chinese officials temporarily banned Lee Der, the company that made the

Fisher-Price recalled toys, from exporting products. The Southern Metropolis

Daily, citing unidentified Lee Der workers, said the recall cost the company $30

million.

The manager of the Lee Der factory committed suicide over the weekend,

government officials said. Zhang Shuhong hanged himself in a warehouse in the

city of Foshan, said an official with the Guangdong Public Security Department.

The recall was among the largest in recent months involving Chinese products,

which have come under scrutiny worldwide for containing potentially dangerous

high levels of chemicals and toxins.

A Chinese quality inspection agency also announced a temporary export ban on

Hansheng Wood Products Factory and said police were investigating the use of

" fake plastic pigment. " Such pigments are a type of industrial latex used to

make surfaces smoother and shinier.

Hansheng made wooden railroad toys that a New York company, RC2 Corp., sold

under the & Friends Wooden Railway product line. RC2 had to recall 1.5

million of the toys earlier this year because of lead paint. E-mail to a friend

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