Lead-tainted toys lawsuit lands $12M

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Famous toymaker Mattel took a huge hit with just a little over a week left before Christmas. Under a settlement with Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and 37 other states attorneys general Monday, major toy manufacturers Fisher-Price and Mattel will not only reduce the lead content in children's toys but also will pay $12 million to Texas and 37 other states.

Mattel and Fisher-Price voluntarily recalled in 2007 thousands of toys that had unlawful amounts of lead. Some surface paint samples tested had more than 82 times the maximum lead content allowed under federal law.

Abbott said the agreement met with the toymakers protects young Texans by helping ensure popular children's toys do not contain excessive and unlawful amounts of lead, since the exposure can cause serious health problems, especially among children.

The agreement also means the toymakers' must do the following from now on:

• test their products' lead content levels
• keep records indicating their products were tested
• proactively inform the state attorneys general if their testing confirms their products contain excessive lead under the new standards

Small amounts of lead can impair brain development in children younger than 12, and high lead levels can lead to serious health problems, including seizures, comas or death.

Abbott called upon Congress to pass the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act , which lowered the allowable lead levels in children's products. The new law cuts the allowable lead content in paint by 85 percent, to 90 parts per million in August 2009. The law requires further reductions in overall lead content in toys throughout the course of the next three years, with the following limits:

• February 2009: 600 ppm
• August 2009: 300 ppm
• August 2011: 100 ppm, unless the Consumer Product Safety Commission decides it is not feasible to lower the amount to 100 ppm

Texas laws do not establish lead limits for children's products, but it will receive $379,879 under the settlement to resolve the investigations.