NEWS from CPSC) `* ~( J& l2 d& \& P) ^
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission2 T8 m$ P1 q, ?& B) K7 E
Office of Information and Public Affairs | Washington, DC 20207 |
; o) X- P+ G" F# I# P& ]$ PFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
D$ S3 }, L; g' H4 Z1 @- b8 X g1 YJuly 7, 2009
: Q& }9 I! [7 x& l! N0 w, XRelease # 09-264 | CPSC Hotline: (800) 638-2772
4 m$ B: _" `7 n' R. zCPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908 | Nine Companies Penalized for Selling Children抯 Products that Violated the Federal Lead Paint Ban
! D- u5 [# m, [0 ?WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced today that nine children抯 product manufacturers, importers and sellers have agreed to pay more than $500,000 in civil penalties for violating the federal lead paint ban.
. v" o5 ^% I4 @+ }; ]& aThe penalties settle allegations that the firms knowingly manufactured, imported, or sold toys and other children抯 articles with paint or other surface coatings that contained lead levels in violation of federal law. The settlements have been provisionally accepted by the Commission.
% _3 G; H* ?% L5 Y! O1 r4 [These products were recalled in 2007 and 2008, and include items such as toys, children抯 metal jewelry, children抯 pens, metal water bottles, pencil pouches, sunglasses and children抯 Halloween pails and baskets. Tests showed that paint or surface coatings on these children抯 products contained lead in excess of 600 ppm, or 0.06 percent, by weight. One firm抯 testing revealed that its products contained surface coatings with nearly 60 percent lead. In 1978, a federal ban was put in place which prohibited toys and other children抯 articles from having more than 0.06 percent lead (by weight) in paints or surface coatings. Lead can be toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health consequences.
! b L+ |2 o+ Z' L4 h( S8 NCPSC has ordered the following firms to pay civil penalties to the federal government:9 u) k, r, [) Y, q) i$ u
/ b* _! J0 I: r1 d' n( l[li]Cardinal Distributing Co. Inc., of Baltimore, Md., $100,000
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. m. ^( r) M: N: m9 J1 R[/li][li]Dollar General Corp., of Goodlettsville, Tenn., $100,000
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( P. [. E3 M) y7 M" p: w[/li][li]Family Dollar Stores Inc., of Matthews, N.C., $75,000 & E/ c$ R3 g( ~ b3 A7 a$ u
; H- M6 }! x' X[/li][li]Hobby Lobby Stores Inc., of Oklahoma City, Okla., $50,000 0 Q" r, y! p% A) w
* V$ y6 I$ } i% R) N# K[/li][li]First Learning Company Ltd., of Hong Kong, $50,000 6 z0 A- o( K6 ^; [/ K/ @; Q
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[/li][li]Michaels Stores Inc., of Irving, Texas, $45,000 % C! k; |$ f' g* r( J& l
* c* g( X: h& \1 `[/li][li]A&A Global Industries Inc., of Cockeysville, Md., $40,000 3 b1 E" i! K) d! b' m
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[/li][li]Raymond Geddes & Co, of Baltimore, Md., $40,000
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[/li][li]Downeast Concepts Inc., of Yarmouth, Maine, $30,000 ) D x1 F7 i9 G6 j& `
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0 p2 U( ]. A( U8 k$ ZIn agreeing to settle the matters, the firms deny CPSC抯 allegations that they knowingly violated the law.
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Cardinal Distributing Co. Inc. Jewelry5 w' X. l$ ~: @9 W6 u9 C
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Dollar General Toy Cars
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A4 p9 C. G5 L; r% s9 V* z# [4 ]Family Dollar Halloween Pails3 }2 o* r+ T$ y" I6 @ W( F. J( O
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: E% Z H' Z+ L4 ]/ `9 LHobby Lobby Halloween Baskets8 J4 [0 |' O0 n8 q, b7 a, P
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5 Y0 x, l5 {+ L m# q8 dFirst Learning Co. Ltd. Blocks Wagon
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9 i2 O) C9 t! {$ K0 c H1 H: z) [Michael抯 Stores Writing Pens6 ~) j* i% h" e1 d5 A
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/ Q; t4 o9 N; C0 A! Z Q8 c4 ^A&A Global Industries Children抯 Bracelets
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% s* W7 s' ~5 Y. HRaymond Geddes Children抯 Pencil Pouches
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Downeast Concepts Metal Water Bottles5 t c9 Y8 ~1 ]% |6 k
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[size=-1]CPSC is still interested in receiving incident or injury reports that are either directly related to this product recall or involve a different hazard with the same product. Please tell us about it by visiting https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx
' N3 m" h$ V( e- N3 u7 {6 R--- Send the link for this page to a friend! The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.- Y& [2 |; K% U8 E7 F
To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC's Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270. To join a CPSC e-mail subscription list, please go to https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx. Consumers can obtain recall and general safety information by logging on to CPSC's Web site at www.cpsc.gov. 8 h5 Y' e* ]% l& d" o
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