Asbestos in CSI Toys: Legality Still a Mystery
Last December, just in time for Christmas, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Foundation released to the public a list of household items in which their independent lab tests had found asbestos.
At the request of CBS, manufacturer Planet Toys removed from store shelves two toys on the list, the CSI: Fingerprint Examination Kit and the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Kit. The company insisted, however, that their own tests showed no signs of asbestos in the made-in-China kits. ADAF’s tests found asbestos in the fingerprinting dust in kits purchased at Toys ‘R Us.
Within the past month, federal and state suits were filed in California. The federal class action complaint seeks refunds for anyone wishing to return their kits, as well as payment for medical treatment for exposure to the tremolite asbestos in the kits, and asbestos testing for any kits that have not been opened. The California suits maintains that the manufacturer failed to meet the state’s Proposition 65 requirement to warn consumers when a product has been found to contain a known carcinogen, or any substance believed to cause cancer or birth defects.
Amazingly, despite any merit to the lawsuits, and the fact that asbestos levels in building materials and workplace air are regulated in the United States, there are no such limits to levels of the substance in toys or other household goods. So, while I’m protected from working in an environment with more than so many thousands of chrysotile fibers per cubic meter, the law seems to imply that your kid is fine brushing some asbestos-containing dust around and then being instructed to blow away any excess.
Please, if you know anyone who has one of these kits, warn them of the potential hazard, and of the lawsuits currently in action.
Tags: asbestos, california, class-action, csi, dust, federal, fingerprinting-kit, fingerprints, regulations, toysRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Science
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