Once again, we are left to wonder why manufacturers of children’s products include lead in the materials. 1.5 million Thomas the Tank Engine products are being recalled due to lead in the surface paint. These wooden railway train products were sold between 2005 and 2007 and manufactured in China. You can visit the CPSC website to learn more information. Consumers are advised to take the toys away from their children immediately and contact RC2 Corp (parent company of Learning Curve) for a replacement. Unlike the Small World Toys recall we participated in earlier this year, you must return the recalled toys to RC2 and fill out a form.
We have several of the recalled trains; however, they were purchased before 2005 when my daughter was a toddler. One of the problems with toy recalls, besides the fact that there are too many of them-unsafe products should not be on the market in the first place, is that most small toys are not registered. Parents are good about filling out registration cards for car seats and other big ticket items, but a $10 wooden train does not even come with a registration card. Parents must rely on news reports, friends, and families to find out about recalls of this nature. Thank you Dad for telling my mainstream media avoiding family about this recall of Thomas the Tank Engine toys.
Hi,
I was really worried about my little boy too – until I found out that the recalled items are not coated with lead paint – but one batch of paint got contaminated with a tiny amount of lead. It seems My boy would have to eat a thousand trains or more to have any bad effect. He loves his trains and I’m going to keep buying them. I think they’ve done the right thing performing a recall they really didn’t have to !
Tina
Hi,
I was really worried about my little boy too – until I found out that the recalled items are not coated with lead paint – but one batch of paint got contaminated with a tiny amount of lead. It seems My boy would have to eat a thousand trains or more to have any bad effect. He loves his trains and I’m going to keep buying them. I think they’ve done the right thing performing a recall they really didn’t have to !
Tina
Oh right, one batch of paint over two years blah blah BS.
I have seen this post on other blogs.
Please provide a link or source for the information you mentioned, i.e. that only one batch of paint was contaminated, etc. Haven’t seen this in any media coverage or on the manufacturer’s web site.
Please visit my web page for links to lead poisoning information, links to other web discussions, and links directly related to the Thomas the Tank Engine recall.
http://home.comcast.net/~chem_daddy
Thanks Dave for the link to your site, and I look forward to its development. I also have not encountered the info about one batch of paint in my research on the recall. I would think that if this was true, the company would be promoting it. Regardless, lead does not belong in any children’s product, nor should these products be manufactured in facilities that use lead in other products for the risk of contamination.
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):
metasaiyan45@hotmail.com marcus@vilesandbeckman.com
michael@vilesandbeckman.com