Go to our information library now
Major new stories are breaking in the Magnetix magnetic toy safety controversy. Be sure to visit http://magnetscankill.spaces.live.com to get up to date.
The U.S. CPSC on April 19, 2007 issued an expanded recall for an additional 4 million toys in the Magnetix product line, sold by MEGA Brands, Inc. Tiny magnets can fall out unexpectedly from poorly designed or defective toys. Parents don't even realize the tiny bits the size of popcorn kernels can can be released from the larger pieces of the toys. If eaten or inhaled, these neodymium magnets may reconnect inside the body and cause serious internal injury or death. Believe it or not, normal kiddos age 1 to age 12 have swallowed Magnetix magnets and needed emergency surgery to save their lives.
The Chicago Tribune beginning May 6 published a major expose of the red flags ignored by the CPSC and the unconscionable lack of remedial action taken by Rose Art and Mega Brands, makers of Magnetix. Both the regulatory agency and the manufacturer knew about the dangers to children of swallowing magnets, the tendency for magnets to be shed by the Magnetix toys, and the scores of terrifying injuries (even one tragic death) from reports as early as the year 2000. Yet they did very little to protect our children when it would have been so easy to do so.
As a direct effect of the Tribune's investigative report, several major retailers including Amazon.com, Walmart, and ToysRUs have temporarily discontinued selling Mega Brands' Magnetix toys. The two recall orders for Magnetix were so confusing that the retailers need more clarity from the CPSC as to which packages are "safe" and which are "defective". It turns out that retailers went on selling potentially damaged Magnetix toys for months or even a year after the original recall in March, 2006. That's because the CPSC gave Mega Brands a "sweetheart deal" in order to get them to buy-in to any sort of "voluntary recall" after the death of young Kenny Sweet, Jr. Products at retail were "excluded" from the recall and stores were not required to return their inventory of old Magnetix products to Mega Brands.
The U.S. CPSC and Mega Brands continue to ignore the danger of certain other Mega Brands magnetic toys that do not carry the name "Magnetix" but may be equally fraught with danger. In particular, Magna Man action figure toys have been shown to easily release magnets.
At the blog Play Library, many mothers have reported that their children have swallowed the metal balls from Magnetix toys, even kids age 6 and older. These parents should file incident reports at cpsc.gov to report any injury from a toy or product defect, whether the toys were legal to be sold or not. The CPSC says that small balls may legally be included in toys designed for children over age 3. They only require a warning label if the toy is marketed for kids age 3-8. But if a steel ball from Magnetix is swallowed, we urge you: an X-ray should be taken immediately of the child to determine if any magnets were swallowed as well (they would attract together across bodily tissue). If no magnetic materials are found, yes the ball should eventually "come out". But Play Library bloggers are reporting that the terrifying process takes several days to a few weeks, and in some cases the Magnetix balls have had to be surgically removed from their child's digestive tract.
Read more about the latest news at our information library, http://magnetscankill.spaces.live.com.
