Lawmakers pin the blame on Mattel

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: Dozens of members of Congress sent a letter to the chief executive of Mattel, accusing the company of not living up to its promise to keep lead-tainted toys out of children’s hands.

The letter was prompted by Mattel’s decision not to issue a nationwide recall of a blood-pressure cuff in a toy medical kit sold under the Fisher-Price brand. The legislators said they were “disturbed” by the company’s “lack of action”.

Lead was found in a plastic part of the toy, and current federal laws ban lead only in paint on toys. Lawmakers are considering a law to limit lead in all material in toys.

The letter, signed by 56 members of Congress, quoted Mattel’s chief executive, Robert A Eckert, as saying in September that the company “will do the right thing.”

“We challenge you to live up to your words,” the letter said, “and set a standard for the entire industry by completely eliminating the use of lead in all the children’s products manufactured by Mattel.”

The company said that its tests of the cuffs found “higher than anticipated” levels of lead, but added that the toy met US and European standards. A Mattel spokeswoman said she did not know how many toys were affected, but it was in the “order of magnitude of thousands.”

Consumer Reports magazine discovered lead in the armband of the toy blood-pressure cuff in November and notified the attorney general in Illinois, where there are stricter lead standards, including limits in plastic. State officials found that the cuffs contained 4,500 to 5,900 parts per million of lead, roughly eight times the federal limit for lead in paint.

In December, Mattel recalled the toy in Illinois and began accepting it back from any retailer or customer nationwide who called a toll-free number.

But it did not recall the toy nationwide, nor did it widely publicise the problem as would have been required in a national recall. The company’s recall page on its website does not include information about the toy.

A spokeswoman for the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which deals with nationwide recalls, said the agency was investigating the product but had taken no action.