Product Safety Boss Balks at Beefing Up Penalties

Related Newser Stories

• New Tests: 35% of Toys Contain Some Lead

  Dec 5, 07 2:00 PM CST
  Toy shelves are still lined with lead, according to test results released today from environmental health groups in nine states. Checking 1,268 toys, the groups found lead in 35%, with levels often surpassing federal recall standards. Only 23 of those toys have been recalled. “This is not about alarming parents,” one official said. “We’re just trying to give people information.” More »

• Bush Shifts Focus to Small Picture

  Nov 24, 07 11:20 AM CST
  With his term winding down, President Bush is putting an increased emphasis on the small picture—domestic issues that have a tangible effect on people's lives, the New York Times reports. While still engaged with weighty foreign matters such as Iraq and the upcoming Mideast summit, Bush has shifted focus to topics such as the holiday travel crunch, unsafe foods, and shaky home loans. More »

• US Stores Riddled With Unsafe Toys

  Nov 21, 07 3:22 AM CST
  Despite massive recalls, hazardous toys still crowd US shelves, warn consumer watchdog organizations. Dozens of toys pose choking hazards, contain toxic chemicals, or use dangerously strong magnets, according to an annual toy survey by the US Public Interest
  Research Group released yesterday. Nine of 100 toys tested by the Center for Environmental Health had unsafe levels of lead. All were made in China. More »

• Product Safety Honchos Get Free Ride

  Nov 2, 07 4:00 PM CDT
  Leaders of the US agency that regulates product safety have accepted free trips from reps of the industries they oversee, a move critics call a flagrant breach of ethics, the Washington Post reports. Consumer Product Safety Commission chief Nancy Nord and predecessor Hal Stratton have taken 30 trips since 2002, with trade associations, manufacturers, and lobbying groups picking up the $60,000 tab. More »

• New Chinese Toy Recall Sparks Fury in Congress

  Oct 5, 07 4:32 AM CDT
  The embattled Consumer Product Safety Commission announced yet another recall of dangerous toys from China yesterday as it came under withering fire in Congress over a recent wave of product safety problems.  Another half million toys made in China are being recalled because of lead paint contamination. The announcement was made just minutes before the acting chairwoman of the federal agency  testified before a Senate subcommittee. More »