Actions for Toy Safety − Rakyat Biologi

There are a number of approaches used primarily in industrialized countries to provide protections to children from harmful toy-related chemical exposures. Measures to achieve chemical safety in toys can be mandated by law, produced using voluntary industry standards, forced by consumer demand, or stimulated by watchdog consumer or environmental health groups. Some approaches are primarily proactive and precautionary; others are reactive and aimed at mitigation of identified risks.

Many countries have general laws which define the limits of use of toxic chemicals in consumer products. For example, in the United States, the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 provides authority to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prohibit the manufacture, processing or distribution in commerce of a substance for a particular use or a particular use above a certain concentration if the Administrator of EPA finds that there is a reasonable basis to conclude that such use results in an unreasonable risk to people. Australia requires the setting of mandatory safety and information standards under the Trade Practices Safety Act of 1974. Canada provides protection through the Hazardous Products Act enacted in 1969.[i]

Recognizing that children are a special population at increased risk, a number of countries have promulgated additional toy-specific safety amendments, laws and regulations. These include in the US, Child Protection Act 1966, later changed to Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA), which bans the use of hazardous substances in toys,[ii] and the Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials Act (LHAMA) 1990 which requires that all arts and crafts materials be evaluated by a toxicologist for acute and chronic health hazards and appropriately labeled.[iii] Since 1970, Canada has had the Hazardous Products (Toys) Regulations in place to address chemical, mechanical, electrical and flammable hazards which may be found in toys.[iv] Australia has mandatory information and safety standards applying to some toys, usually for mechanical hazards.[v] The European Union (EU) enacted the Safety of Toys Directive (Directive 88/378/EEC) in 1988 which sets fundamental health and safety requirements for playthings, including explicit discussion of chemicals used in the manufacture or function of toys.[vi]

In a number of countries, specialized agencies have been created or empowered at the national level to regulate and enforce consumer protection laws. These functions vary by country and legal system but may include the development of specific product standards, rules, labeling requirements, testing protocols, surveillance programs, and fines and penalty schedules for compliance failure. In the US, the Consumer Product Safety Commission administers the FHSA and LHAMA. Health Canada administers and enforces the Hazardous Products Act and the Hazardous Products (Toys) Regulations, and takes action when products do not meet the requirements of the legislation.[vii] Health Canada also identifies potentially hazardous toys through monitoring and testing, as well as receiving consumer or trade complaints. Similarly, Australian toy standards are enforced by Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).[viii]

In addition to general and specific laws, some countries also have a backdrop of common law torts and product liability that complements these legislative, regulatory and administrative codes as a further deterrent and preventive measure to placing defective products on the market.[ix] Such regimes in some countries provide a very meaningful incentive to design and manufacture safe toys, including consideration of chemical risks. Particularly with products like toys, an award of substantial compensatory and punitive damages to an injured party for the negligent manufacture or design of a toy is possible.

Voluntary industry standards and programs are also used. At times industry has taken the lead in setting standards that then become statutory, at other times they have been developed at the direction of regulatory bodies. Standards may also provide guidance to suppliers, drive purchasing specifications, product inputs and become enforceable through private contracting. These voluntary standards reflect the long standing emphasis on safety maintained by toy manufacturers associations. For example, in the United States an initial voluntary standards effort was sponsored by the Toy Manufacturers of America (now Toy Industry Association-TIA[x]) with the National Bureau of Standards (PS 72-76), which was taken over in 1980 by the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) and resulted in the promulgation of ASTM F963. [xi] This first voluntary safety standard provided a basis for toy regulation in the United States and elsewhere in the world. Its provisions have been incorporated in statutes and voluntary standards of several dozen countries around the world. The Australian Toy Standard (AS/NZ 8124) was established by the federal government commission on standards and requires all participants in the toy industry to adhere to what are largely voluntary standards.[xii] In Japan, by voluntary agreement with industry, toys have been free of lead paint since 1960.[xiii]

Whereas mandatory and voluntary standards by defining limits of materials and designs to be used in toys are proactive and preventive in nature, recalls are primarily reactive and imperfect. Recalls are triggered by the identification of a toy produced in violation of mandatory safety standards, or when a toy is identified as hazardous by virtue of some aspect of construction or function that is not covered by mandatory standards. Sometimes a recall is initiated because a child has already been harmed; more often it occurs because a testing or screening system identifies a problem, or a consumer makes a complaint to the appropriate regulatory agency or body. Recalled products are readily retrieved if they have not left distribution or retail outlets, but are more difficult to collect from consumers. Despite multimedia public notification and warnings, some recalled toys may remain in circulation causing ongoing hazard.

Finally, labeling standards and enforcement are a major approach to toy safety. Regulators and child specialists in many countries have developed age related guidelines to toy safety which address the issues of safety related to children's developmental stage and toy design and function.[xiv] Linked to age standards, are issues related to chemical content of toys, likely exposures based upon behavior and misuse, body size, and cognitive development.

Recent increases in international and internet commerce have created new challenges and stimulated activity on harmonization of toy safety standards. For example, approximately 70% of the toys sold in the United States and a large portion of those sold in the EU and elsewhere come from China.[xv] These toys are largely produced under the comprehensive requirements of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and ASTM F963, and the European Union as set forth in EN71. These requirements include a general prohibition precluding the manufacture and sale of any toy which presents a risk of illness or injury and are further defined in subsections which set forth specific requirements for manufacturing safe toys. The standards of both the U.S. and the EU address mechanical and physical properties; requirements for testing foreseeable use and abuse; flammability; migration of harmful substances including heavy metals; experimental sets for chemistry; age warning labeling and appropriate age recommendations for certain toys.

The development of mandatory regulation and voluntary standards in the United States and European Union has led to the development of ISO Standard 8124, a harmonized voluntary standard for use internationally. ISO 8124 and a code of practice for its enforcement have been made available for developing countries by the International Council of Toy Industries (ICTI), a not-for-profit trade

association representing toy trade associations from 20 countries.[1]^,[i] ISO 8124 is available for use by any country in the world that desires to immediately adopt voluntary standards for the safety of toys it may

manufacture.[ii] Most recently a number of countries including China and Korea have adopted those standards for their national standard.[iii]

In the United States, compliance with toy standards is supported by manufacturers sending toys to outside independent laboratories to confirm compliance before they are launched in commerce and by retailers who confirm compliance with outside independent laboratories before receiving shipments of toys. In the European Union, manufacturers are required to maintain a technical file showing compliance with EN71 before they distribute their toys in commerce.[iv]

In this global context, with the large volume of toys produced by large and small manufacturers, who may or may not be members of ICTI or other relevant associations, it remains a challenge to ensure universal compliance with international, regional and country specific standards. For example, in the mid-1990s crayons imported into the US labeled as "non-toxic" appeared on the market, were discovered to contain high levels of lead, and were recalled.^{^[v]} In addition, many of the current labeling rules and standards may predate the internet and may not be universally applied by internet based merchants.^{^[vi]} The World Health Organization European region has recommended that governments "enact/enforce legislation to protect children from exposure to hazardous chemicals in toys and other products used by them."[vii] At the Fourth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, held in Budapest, Hungary, 23-25 June 2004 [European health] ministers declared that "more attention needs to be focused on the chemical composition of children's products and toy," and called on "manufacturers to stop placing on the market products containing substances that have, or may have, adverse effects on children's health".

[1] ICTI member Toy Manufacturer Associations include the following countries: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Chinese Taipei, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States.

[i]ICTI Member List as of May 2006. Available at http://www.toy-icti.org/about/memberlist.htm Accessed 24 June 2006

[ii]ISO Standards. List of published standards for Toy Safety. Available for purchase online at http://www.iso.ch/iso/en/CatalogueListPage.CatalogueList?COMMID=4243 Accessed 13 June 2006

[iii] Information provided by counsel to the Toy Industry Association, New York City, New York.

[iv] Information provided by counsel to the Toy Industry Association, New York City, New York.

[v]CPSC Announces Recalls Of Imported Crayons Because Of Lead Poisoning Hazard. April 4, 1994. Available at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml94/94055.html Accessed 25 May 2006

[vi] Cassidy A. 20^th Annual Toy Safety Survey, Trouble in Toy Land. U.S. PIRG, Educational Fund, Washington DC, Nov 2005 http://www.toysafety.net/2005/troubleintoyland2005.pdf

[vii]Children's Health and Environment: Developing National Action Plans Background Document. For Fourth Ministerial Conference Environment and Health, Budapest, Hungary, 23-25 June 2004. Available at http://www.euro.who.int/document/eehc/ebakdoc07.pdf Accessed 23 May 2006

[i] Hazardous Products Act ( R.S., 1985, c. H-3 ). Available at

http://lois.justice.gc.ca/en/H-3/index.html Accessed 23 May 2006; Guide to the Hazardous Products Act. Available at http://hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pubs/indust/reference_quide-consultation_rapid/index_e.html

[ii]Federal Hazardous Substances Act (Public Law 86-613 as amended) Available at http://www.cpsc.gov/businfo/fhsa.pdf Accessed 23 May 2006

[iii]Committee on Environmental Health. Pediatric Environmental Health 2^nd Edition. Ch 33 Arts and Crafts. American Academy of Pediatrics: Elk Grove Village;2003(515-522).

[iv]Hazardous Products (Toys) Regulations (C.R.C., c. 931) Available at http://lois.justice.gc.ca/en/H-3/C.R.C.-c.931/index.html Accessed 23 May 2006; Guide for Toys. Available at http://hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pubs/indust/safety_toys-securite_jouets/index_e.html

[v] ACCC Safe Toys for Kids. Commonwealth of Australia, 2005. Available at http://www.accc.gov.au/content/item.phtml?itemId=742396&nodeId=260d617f55bd0edd5262b66b1c62b398&fn=Safe%20toys%20for%20kids.pdf Accessed 23 June 2006

[vi]Council Directive 88/378/EEC of 3 May 1988 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning the safety of toys OJ No L 187/1 of 1988-07-06 Available at http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/newapproach/standardization/harmstds/reflist/toys.html Accessed 23 June 2006 Council Directive 88/378/EEC of 3 May 1988 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning the safety of toys Available at http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/toys/dir1988_378.htm Accessed 23 June 2006

[vii]Health Canada. Toy Safety. Available at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/iyh-vsv/prod/toys-jouets_e.html Accessed 23 May 2006

[viii] ACCC Safe Toys for Kids. Commonwealth of Australia, 2005. Available at http://www.accc.gov.au/content/item.phtml?itemId=655334&nodeId=file43a0a98ce003a&fn=Safe%20toys%20for%20kids.pdf Accessed 23 May 2006

[ix] American Law Institute’s Third Restatement of the Law, Torts: Product Liability, can be ordered at https://www.ali.org/ali/Tortpl.htm Accessed 20 June 2006.

[x]About Toy Industry Association, Inc. Available at http://www.toy-tia.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Toy_Industry_Association/About_TIA/About_TIA.htm Accessed 14 June 2006

[xi]F963 Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety. Available at http://www.astm.org/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/DATABASE.CART/REDLINE_PAGES/F963.htm?L+mystore+mjlr6477+1146688239 Accessed 23 May 2006

[xii] Australian Toy Association Available at http://www.austoy.com.au/ Accessed 23 June 2006

[xiii]Rapuano M, Florini K. The Global Dimensions of Lead Poisoning; an Initial Analysis. Alliance to End Lead Poisoning and Environmental Defense Fund. March 1999. p 50

[xiv]Smith TM. Age Determination Guidelines: Relating children's ages to toy characteristics and play behavior. Consumer Product Safety Commission Staff Document. September 2002.

[xv] Statistic derived from data issued by the United States International Trade Commission, and compiled by counsel for the Toy Industry Association, New York City, New York.