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Push to move Toxic Toys off Store Shelves in Onondaga County and NYS

John Smith, WAER News

An environmental group is making the push for the State Legislature to adopt the Child Safe Products Act to remove tainted toys from store shelves across the State and locally. Members of Clean and Healthy New York made toy purchases in Onondaga County and then used an X-ray fluorescent scanning device to see what they contained. Deputy Director Bobbi Chase Wilding scanned the toys and what she found might surprise you.

“And found things like xylophones with lead and mercury. Zipper pulls for little hoodies with cadmium in it. It’s a wide range of jewelry and children’s products that are containing toxic chemicals.”

  
Wilding says some metals are absorbed through the skin. If those little fingers go into the mouth, Wilding says kids could be swallowing the contaminants harmful to their development.

“With heavy metals, these are things that build up on our bodies over time. So every time a child is exposed it’s adding to their burden. So, even when it’s a small amount, it all adds up.”

Credit John Smith, WAER News
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John Smith, WAER News
Clean and Healthy New York's Deputy Director Bobbi Chase-Wilding demonstrates the X-ray gun she uses to test the contaminants and chemicals in toys.

A local Registered Nurse who says she’s seen the firsthand effects of kids getting ill is Renee Havener.  Sometimes she says lives are cut short.

“I’ve consoled parents as they slowly watch their children slip away. Some of those deaths were absolutely preventable. I’ve seen fear in parent’s eyes when they realize their children are not reach developmental milestones and their devastation when they begin to understand that their children’s disabilities were entirely preventable.”

Credit John Smith, WAER News
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John Smith, WAER News
Local RN, Renee Havener talks about the complications kids have suffered. Common Councilor Chad Ryan is to her right.

If New York State doesn’t pass a law that would ban the questionable toys that are mostly imported, Syracuse Common Councilor Chad Ryan says lawmakers could send a message to Albany.

“The best thing we can do is push our County and State delegation to move forward. I think at the minimum, the county may do something. I think it would be a little better option than just the city.”

Ryan adds it would be difficult to enforce a law solely at the city level.  On the manufacturing end, he says toy companies may claim it would be too costly to make special toys for New York State. However, he says the health of our children and their future is not a topic to play politics with. To read the report on Toxic Toys by Clean and Healthy New York, click here.

John Smith has been waking up WAER listeners for a long time as our Local Co-Host of Morning Edition with timely news and information, working alongside student Sportscasters from the Newhouse School.