I'm Busting my Buffers over the Thomas Recall

I can remember when I first learned about the dangers of lead paint.  I read it in an article in my Weekly Reader.  It was pretty scary. There was a picture of a diaper baby sitting on the floor with a peeling wall as the backdrop. Yes, I was in the second grade.

30 years later the Thomas the Tank engine wooden railway is recalling 1.5 million choo choos, and I am steaming mad! When I foolishly spend $20 on a little 3 inch wooden toy, isn't it reasonable to expect that it will pass the most basic safety requirements?

The recall announcement explains how to determine whether your trains are included in the recall.  I have located what may or may not be the serial number, a minuscule 2 pt font--dark grey printed on black. I stared at it 10 minutes before finding the sequence of numbers and letters.  Then I had to ask M to read it for me.

Bust my boilers, RC2 Corp. Whoever you are!

(via Mombian, thanks Dana)

Comments

[mandm]

No kidding! I found 2 serial numbers among the whole assortment I checked. 1 is friend and 1 is foe. Even those needed something kin to an electron microscope to be read. Those that have no detectable serial number have joined the offender in the box headed back to the scrap yard.

mel

[Lori]

The Thomas toys used to be made by Ertl in Dyersville, IA. The toy factory was a major source of employment for a rather poor, agricultural area. I hear they are now being made in China. Yet another reason to keep production and manufacturing at home--would you pay an extra few bucks for a Thomas engine? They used to be made of very well made cast materials, and the paint wasn't poisonous.

[Jessica]

I know! We buy these things thinking: they're made from wood, they are safer than plastic, blah blah. Luckily 99% of ours were given to us by our nephew and all purchased before 2005. We have "lights and sounds James" and his tender. Miles was pretty pissed off when he discovered I had taken it away. Hideous!!!

[Mieke]

What you said! Makes me nuts.

[Rick]

The recall only affects a small number of the pieces they have (fortunately) and it's only an issue if children are eating the paint. But it's still baffling how this could happen when lead in paint is a very well understood issue.

[Shannon]

I thought of you as soon as I heard about the recall. I know Pearl is a big Thomas fan. I was relieved I hadn't given in to Cole and got any for Nat, because she puts EVERYTHING in her mouth--still.

But who knows what else is out there? This is pretty shocking.

[claire]

Lead paint has been outlawed in the USA since before 1976. The wooden trains were made in China. For just a few dollars for thousand trains, RC2 could have used x-ray analysis or other non-destructive methods to test the paint for lead. Note to RC2: this is called "quality control"

When we pay $10-20 per train, we expect them to be lead free.

[Lila]

I was doing a google search to find out where to send our recalled James etc. when I found your blog.

I had EXACTLY the same reaction you did -- and Claire, Rick, and Mieke.

It is maddening to find that our children have been exposed to a health hazard everyone has known about for years and against which we assumed we were protected.

Maddening in the sense of infuriating but also in the sense of crazy-making. (Knowing we paid so much for the privilege of exposing our kids to lead is just salt in the wound).

If you work in certain arts industries (I'm a part-time potter) you're always conscious of the lead problem because even after 30 plus years there aren't any really great replacements for the lush (but toxic) lead-based red and yellow pigments that we used to use in glazes.

Our wooden Thomas trains spent a lot of time in the bathtub with my boys and have seriously peeling paint. Shudder.

[Mark]

I have some questions re: this recall. What was the concentration of lead in the paint? How much of the paint could a child ingest without having any negative effects? Are there any immediate symptoms or could they show up later in the form of, e.g., learning disabilities? What has been done to determine how much lead is in the paint, who made the determination, and what is the risk of the child getting lead poisoning from these trains? Has an independent laboratory done any testing of the paint - if so, why hasn't the company posted the data, and if not, why not?

[Robin Reagler]

Check out this NYT article by DAVID LEONHARDT about the "lesson" of the Thomas recall. Here's the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/20/business/20leonhardt.html?em&ex=1182484800&en=8f7277192e097849&ei=5087%0A

[Chris P.]

Hello, I am with Viles and Beckman, LLC. We are actively investigating the current Thomas the Tank Engine/RC2 lead toys debacle. If any parents or toy owners would like their toys to have their lead levels check (in an independent lab in Massachusetts) please contact our firm. We will happily accept your toys, return them (if you so wish), and inform you of the results of the testing.

Thank You,
Chris P.

For more information please email (any of the addresses below):
[email protected] [email protected]
[email protected]

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