Redmond child's death helps spur recall of toy

WASHINGTON — Noting the death of a Seattle-area child and serious injuries suffered by four others after swallowing tiny magnets found in building sets sold nationwide, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Thursday a recall of 3.8 million of the toy kits.

The commission said it has received reports of 34 incidents involving the small magnets included in the Magnetix magnetic building sets, including the X-treme Combo, Micro and Extreme versions.

A 22-month-old boy — Kenny Sweet of Redmond — died in November after he swallowed magnets that twisted his small intestine and created a blockage, federal officials said. Three other children, between 3 and 8, suffered intestinal perforations that required surgery and hospitalization. And a 5-year-old boy inhaled two magnets that had to be surgically removed from his lungs.

Sweet's family is suing the manufacturer in King County Superior Court. Two other Northwest families, whose young sons had the magnets surgically removed from their intestines, have filed complaints in U.S. District Court in Seattle.

The magnets are fitted inside the "Magnetix" plastic building pieces and rods, but can fall out, posing a danger to children who inhale or swallow them. Should a child ingest more than one of the magnets, the magnets can clump and pierce or block the intestines.

The sets have "Magnetix" printed on them and were sold from September 2003 through this month at Wal-Mart, Target, Toys R Us, Fred Meyer, Design Science Toys, A.C. Moore and other stores nationwide.

The Chinese-made sets were imported by Rose Art Industries of Livingston, N.J.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said consumers should return the sets to Rose Art. Consumers with questions can contact Rose Art at 800-272-9667 or visit the company's Web site at www.roseart.com.