Unsafe toys for kids still on shelves

For Immediate Release
AAJ Press Room

“Can’t Protect the Safety of Children” (CPSC) Chair Nancy Nord Should Resign

Washington, DC— Failing to protect the safety and health of America’s children, Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Chair Nancy Nord should immediately resign, the American Association for Justice said today.

“More than 13 million recalled toys on the market should never have been there in the first place, but they were because Nancy Nord was asleep at the helm,” said Jon Haber, American Association for Justice CEO. “When not asleep, she was flying around the world on the tab of the very industries she is supposed to be regulating. She should be working on keeping unsafe toys from ever reaching the hands of our children instead of allowing corporate manufacturers to put unsafe products on America’s shelves at a record pace.”

Last month, Nord opposed the efforts of Congress to increase her agency’s budget and give it more enforcement tools to stop dangerous foreign toys and other products from flooding the American market.

Nord has even opposed a long overdue ban on lead in children's toys. Lead, most commonly found in bright-colored paints, has been shown to cause developmental delays, impaired hearing and kidney damage, particularly in children.

Last week it was revealed that Nord had accepted free trips sponsored by the fireworks industry and toy manufacturers to a wide range of holiday destinations including New Orleans, Spain and a golf resort in Hilton Head. The corporations were among those whose products are regularly reviewed by the CPSC.

“From Aqua Dots to Thomas the Tank Engines, Americans have lost all faith that Nancy Nord puts the interests of consumers ahead of the businesses that she has sworn to regulate,” said Haber. “She has taken their free trips while allowing millions of dangerous toys into our stores, and it is long past time now for true strong leadership at the CPSC that will protect our children.”