NBVA
Massive Toy Safety Recall

A massive toy recall will be announced on July 8, 2004 under a joint press release from the Consumer Products Safety Commission and A & A Global Industries, L.M. Becker & Company, Cardinal Industries and Brand Imports. This press release is the result of a voluntary recall agreement with all those suppliers.

Normally, suppliers are prohibited from disclosing to their customers prior to the official CPSC recall notice any information about the recall, but an exception was granted in this case because of the fact that there are about 700,000 capsule vending machines on locations and, under the circumstances, the CPSC has permitted the four suppliers to pre-announce to their customers the identity of the products being recalled. To those of you who still may have any products containing lead, this is what it means:

• Immediately stop selling any further products containing lead.
• Proceed as quickly as you are able to do so to remove all products with lead from your machines. We understand that the number of our machines on location prevents this from being done immediately, but as your route operators reach each location, they should be instructed to search for and remove any products they are able to identify as containing lead.
• You will be instructed by the suppliers on the precise products that are being recalled and you are urged to gather them together and return them to the suppliers for credit.

This is a historic moment in our history. Until last fall, following the Oregon incident, no product had ever been recalled on a voluntary or involuntary basis. We have had a remarkably safe industry for almost 100 years. So what has happened to change things?

Our four suppliers met in Washington with several senior representatives of the CPSC less than two weeks ago. Based upon the tests that were done by the CPSC on the samples taken from each of the four suppliers, each supplier agreed that it is time to eliminate all lead from our products. The CPSC had only identified 10 specific products that did not pass the CPSC test for product safety out of dozens of products inspected and tested, but the suppliers volunteered that there are probably 70 or so more products that are sufficiently similar and should be eliminated as well. Many of these products are out of circulation or almost out of circulation, but in an abundance of caution and in the spirit of cooperation with the CPSC, in order to provide totally safe products for children, the suppliers extended the scope of the recall dramatically.

How did this all happen so quickly? Here are some questions you are likely to have and the corresponding answers as best as we can conclude at this time.

Question.

Do a lot of our products contain lead?

Answer.

No, lead is found only in die-cast jewelry items. All other toys are lead free and only a small portion of the toy jewelry items contain any lead.

Question.

What percentage of jewelry items in capsule vending machines contain lead?

Answer.

From zero to perhaps 10%.

Question.

What tests were conducted on these products to assure their safety?

Answer.

Every item in our vending machines, including the toy jewelry were sent to independent laboratories, tested and certified to suppliers as being in compliance with all applicable rules and regulations. Our suppliers believed these products were safe, you as operators believed these products were safe and we believed these products were safe.

Question.

Then, why are the suppliers recalling the toy jewelry with lead and removing them from the machines at this time?

Answer.

Because the CPSC has done tests that suggest the surface coatings are not adequate to prevent access to the lead.

Question.

Is this a new test?

Answer.

We are not yet sure. CPSC promised to supply us with an explanation of the test methods and standards. We don't have that explanation yet, but according to the CPSC, they performed fairly standard solubility tests. But even if all those products passed every CPSC regulation and guideline, the CPSC still has the power to recall a product as being potentially dangerous.

Question.

Did our suppliers obtain solubility tests as well?

Answer.

Yes - but only on products with painted surfaces. The several laboratories performing work for our suppliers told the suppliers and us that the solubility test is not appropriate for electroplated surfaces and actually refused to run those tests.

Question.

How much lead is permitted in painted surfaces?

Answer.

Painted surfaces were routinely tested for lead content under the solubility tests pursuant to Sections 8.2 and 8.3 of the ASTM Standards. Under these standards, the lead content in paint cannot exceed .06% in weight— or 600 parts per million.

Question.

What will be the maximum lead content in any future products?

Answer:

Even the CPSC does not know the answer yet. There are very few products that are “totally” free from lead, since traces of lead are abundant and common in almost everything. The CPSC is trying to determine what is the maximum amount of “traces” of lead that still will result in a safe product that will not endanger a child. Canada uses a standard of .06%, or 600 parts per million for lead in the entire product, not just the painted coating. We can expect that the CPSC will come out with a figure at or close to this number, but that precise number will not be known for perhaps a couple of months.

Question.

What will the suppliers do about products in the future?

Answer.

The suppliers tell us they have not placed new orders for die cast products with lead for several months. They know that even “lead free” products will contain negligible amounts of lead. Once the CPSC announces that acceptable amount, the suppliers will be able to specify with confidence the testing standard for “lead free” products.

Question.

What is being done to minimize the adverse affect of the recall on our industry?

Answer:

Several TV news shows and newspaper stories highlighted the potential danger from lead in die cast jewelry products. Those stories are likely to end after the publicity on this recall—as long as we continue to remain lead free.

The voluntary consent and recall by our suppliers sends a strong message to the government and all parents that they are responsible business people who desperately want to sell only safe products.

The suppliers believed they were selling safe products and chose not to contest the findings and recommendations of the CPSC. They voluntarily expanded the products for recall to assure safety.

The suppliers have engaged Nancy Harvey Stoert, a former chairman of the CPSC during the Reagan administration, to help them navigate through the recall and standard making process and they engaged a public relations firm to help disseminate the word that our products are safe.

We believe that parents will appreciate the responsiveness and sense the professional and responsible actions taken to remove potentially dangerous products that until now we all believed were safe.