Sean McGrath of the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group released the organization's annual dangerous toys report this week. (Photo by Ken Yuszkus/Salem, Mass., News)

CNHI News Service

SALEM, Mass. - A Massachusetts public interest organization has sounded its annual dangerous toy alarm on the eve of the Christmas shopping season.

At the top of the list is the children's book "Little Hands Love," meant to be a teething toy but which the Massachusetts Public Interest Resaerch Group (MassPIRG) said contains lead levels higher than allowed under the nation's Consumer Protection Safety Act.

MassPIRG representative Sean McGrath presented the organization's annual report on toys at a press conference this week in this Boston suburb.

He said 200,000 toys were recalled by the Consumer Products Safety Commission this past year, and that an even higher number, 3.5 million toys, were determined to pose choking hazards.

Forty-one children in the U.S. choked to death on toys between 2005 and 2009, according to the MassPIRG report.

McGrath urged parents to educate themselves about newer hazards, such as phthalates, chemical additives that make plastic soft but can impair a child's development.

He produced a pair of "Joking Around Funny Glasses," purchased at a local store, that he said contained phthalates way beyond the federal acceptable level.

State Rep. John Keenan joined with McGrath to warn parents and shoppers about toys that contain toxic material or are too noisy for children's ears.

"Manufactuers come up with creative ways to come up with dangerous toys," said Kennan.

The MassPIRG report referred consumers to these websites: www.uspirg.org/edfund/toysafety-2011 and www.saferproducts.gov.
---
Details for this story were provided by the Salem, Mass., News.