Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

Earlier this month, the Associated Press exposed yet another disturbing Chinese trade secret when it reported that some manufacturers in China are making children’s jewelry with the highly toxic metal cadmium. Children’s jewelry now joins the growing list of dangerous and sometimes deadly products pouring into the United States from China – a list that includes toys covered with lead paint, pet food and baby formula tainted with melamine, sulfuric drywall that has ruined thousands of homes, and other poorly made or defective merchandise.

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Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., the world’s largest retailer, is pulling items of children’s jewelry known or suspected to be manufactured with high levels of toxic cadmium from store shelves. The move follows an Associated Press investigation published earlier this week which found some China-based manufacturers were creating children’s jewelry with varying amounts of cadmium — a heavy medal considered by the federal government to be one of the most toxic substances on earth.

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On the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s priority list of the 275 most toxic substances in the environment, the heavy metal cadmium is ranked seventh. Unfortunately, in an investigative report, the Associated Press found that cadmium is being used in large quantities to make children’s jewelry and other products that are sold in the United States. The country of origin for almost all of these products is China.

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The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced yesterday that RC2 Corp. of Oak Brook, Illinois has agreed to pay a $1.25 million civic penalty for importing toys to the United States that violated the federal lead paint ban. RC2 is the importer and seller of Thomas & Friends ™ Wooden Railway toys.

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Toys with lead paint, contaminated food, toxic drywall, defective all-terrain vehicles – these are just some of the Chinese exports that have spawned massive safety recalls and personal injury lawsuits in the last couple of years. In 2007, made-in-China products accounted for more than 82% of all U.S. consumer product recalls. Assuming that U.S.-China trade relations remain normal, what will the future of the American marketplace look like in 5 or 10 years? Will it be rife with all sorts of defective and dangerous imports or will Chinese manufacturers eventually embrace what it means to make a “quality” product?

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To help educate parents about toy safety, Consumer Product Safety CommissionChairman Inez Tenenbaum held a town-hall style meeting in New York City. Discussions centered on new federal safety rules that raise the standards for toys and help protect children from unnecessary harm.

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The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission announced that it has sworn in its new Chairman, Inez Tenebaum, an attorney and child advocate who recently completed two terms as South Carolina’s State Superintendent of Education. Ms. Tenenbaum was nominated by President Obama on June 9 and confirmed by the Senate on June 19. Her term will expire in October 2013.

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The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission announced that it has hit Mattel, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary Fischer-Price with the third largest civil penalty in CPSC history for importing and selling toys containing illegal amounts of lead. The toy manufacturers agreed to pay the $2.3 million penalty, which was the highest of its kind for violations involving the importation or distribution of a regulated product.

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Children’s furniture manufacturer Munire of Piscataway, N.J., has recalled 3,000 cribs and 6,000 pieces of matching furniture. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reports that a child fell ill after ingesting some of the paint off a piece of Munire furniture. The child was diagnosed with lead poisoning, prompting investigators to examine the child’s crib. Paint samples taken from the child’s furniture showed that the finish violates federal lead paint standard.

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