Protect our children from toxic toys

Over the past several months, millions of popular toys have been recalled because of high levels of lead, a highly toxic element, especially for children. Thomas the Train, Dora the Explorer and some Sesame Street toys were among those recalled.

A recent headline from The Seattle Times perhaps said it best: "Recalls prompt parents to ask: Is any toy safe?" Sadly, it is a very good question.

As a father of a 3-month-old boy and a 2-½-year-old girl, I am dismayed by these incidents. My daughter Lillian loves Sesame Street, Dora, and Thomas the Train, just like many other kids. Her aunts and uncles and grandparents are quite fond of sending toys of these popular characters to her, and she plays enthusiastically with all of them. The idea that as a father I need to worry about whether my child is being poisoned while she is playing with toys is shocking.

Even more shocking is the fact that I can examine them all I want and not know which toys are safe and which ones are not. I have worked on pollution issues for more than a decade and am well versed in the alphabet soup of toxic chemicals and their health impacts. But, I don't know any more than my daughter or my son Jude about whether there are chemicals in the rubber ducky that we play with in the bathtub every night that could impair their learning or cause reproductive problems later in life.

There is simply no information available about what toxic chemicals are in the products that we buy for our children. And, there is no government agency tasked to ensure they are safe.

Not only are the products unregulated, so are the toxic chemicals. Fewer than 5 percent of toxic chemicals have been reviewed by government agencies, despite the fact that there is a growing body of scientific evidence linking low levels of exposure of these chemicals to serious health impacts. Amazingly, some chemicals that are used in children's products, like phthalates, a chemical that impacts reproduction, have been tightly regulated in Europe, but remain for sale here in the United States.

Unfortunately, our children are paying the price for the failure of government to take action on dangerous chemicals in their rattles and race cars. It's time for a change.

Washington state has long been a leader in protecting our health and environment from the impacts of toxic chemicals such as the lead that is tainting so many of our children's toys. In 2000, Washington became the first state in the nation to establish a program to phase out and clean up some of the most dangerous chemicals, including mercury and dioxin.

Last year, the Department of Ecology took strong action to address the problem of lead in children's lunch boxes. And earlier this year, thanks to the Legislature, Washington became the first state in the nation to pass a bill to phase out the use of the toxic flame retardants (PBDEs) that are rapidly building up in breast milk, our bodies, and in Puget Sound.

Washington state needs to continue this proud tradition by taking firm steps to protect our children from toxic chemicals in toys. We can start by:

• Requiring that manufacturers of children's products sold in Washington state disclose the chemical content of their products;

• Requiring manufacturers of children's products to use safer chemicals and materials; and,

• Providing support to businesses to make the products that we need without polluting our children's bodies and environment.

I look forward to the day when I can go to bed knowing that the toys that my children are playing with are safe. I hope that I don't have to wait until I am giving my grandkids their own Dora the Explorer and Elmo dolls for that to happen.