One might think the news of lead in toys would prompt a manufacturer to recall them immediately. Not so in Illinois, where a toy company has questioned the validity of state authority to determine safety. The disagreement seems to hinge on whether state or federal regulations should determine acceptable exposure to lead:

llinois authorities thought they had reached an amicable agreement late last year with Ty Inc. to have the company voluntarily remove its Jammin’ Jenna dolls from retailers because the toys contained high amounts of lead.

But a few days later, the state attorney general’s point person on the issue was surprised to see Jammin’ Jenna for sale in a candy store near her office. The next morning, the official spotted another one at a grocery store near her home.

When the attorney general’s office confronted Ty, best known for its Beanie Babies, the Westmont-based company said it would no longer sell new versions of Jammin’ Jenna to Illinois retailers. But it refused to recall dolls already in stores, according to the state.

Note the detection method. An official went to a store and saw the toy was still being sold. Could there be a more automated method? Will checkout tills soon have the ability to detect harmful substances? Probably too costly, compared with spot-checks, but I am reminded of airport security. If the risk is high-enough, even just from a public perception/fear perspective, then maybe toy retailers will have safety-enabled checkout scanners.

Speaking of retailers, I wonder why they could not get the retailer to refuse to sell the toy. Later in the same article, another similar story comes to light, but it does not target the manufacturer.

State authorities also are upset at national retailer Party City, which told investigators and the Tribune in the fall that it had stopped selling a pirate skull ring found by the newspaper to contain high lead levels. A spot check by the Tribune later found the ring still for sale.

The newspaper bought and tested the ring again. It exceeded safety limits for lead.

A Party City spokeswoman said the chain had instructed its 500 stores across the country to pull the rings and thought the order had been carried out. The firm said it re-issued the order earlier this month after the Tribune informed the company that the tainted product was still on some shelves.

The retailer also said it has instructed its stores to withdraw a similar pirate necklace, which the Tribune found in a follow-up test contained lead levels more than 200 times the state limit.

This story puts into perspective the hassle of chasing down NT4 and Windows 2000 servers and getting them off the network.

One last thought. Remember the robot in Buck Rogers? I think it said “Eat Lead, Suckers!” Ty should consider licensing that little guy for their beanie baby line…