AQUA DOTS TOYS RECALLED AFTER CAUSING COMAS

From CNN.com:

Millions of Chinese-made toys have been pulled from shelves in North America and Australia after scientists found they contain a chemical that converts into a powerful date rape drug when ingested. Two children in the U.S. and three in Australia were hospitalized after swallowing the beads.

With only seven weeks until Christmas, the recall is yet another blow to the toy industry -- already bruised by a slew of recalls this past summer.

In the United States, the toy goes by the name Aqua Dots, a highly popular holiday toy distributed by Toronto-based Spin Master Toys. They are called Bindeez in Australia, where they were named toy of the year at an industry function earlier this year.

It could not immediately be learned whether Aqua Dots beads are made in the same factories as the Bindeez product. Both are sold by Australia-based Moose Enterprises.

The toy beads are sold in general merchandise stores and over the Internet for use in arts and crafts projects. They can be arranged into designs and fused together when sprayed with water.

Scientists say a chemical coating on the beads, when ingested, metabolizes into the so-called date rape drug gamma hydroxy butyrate. When eaten, the compound -- made from common and easily available ingredients -- can induce unconsciousness, seizures, drowsiness, coma and death.

Naren Gunja from Australia's Poisons Information Center said the drug's effect on children was "quite serious ... and potentially life-threatening."

The recall was announced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission on Wednesday several hours after published reports about the recall in Australia.

The two U.S. children who swallowed Aqua Dot beads went into nonresponsive comas, commission spokesman Scott Wolfson said Wednesday afternoon.

In Australia, the toys were ordered off store shelves on Tuesday when officials learned that a 2-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl were hospitalized after swallowing the beads. A 19-month-old toddler also was being treated.

BUSH ADMINISTRATION TO PUT FORWARD CONSUMER SAFETY PROPOSALS

From The New York Times:

The Bush administration on Tuesday will propose a significant expansion of the authority of the federal drug and consumer product safety agencies to inspect and certify imports, White House and other administration officials said Monday.

A White House official said a major part of the plan would entail stationing inspectors in foreign countries to examine drugs, food and other potentially dangerous products before they were shipped to American shores. The official said that with $2 trillion in imports annually, inspections at the ports had become ineffective.

The official said the plan would give the agencies the authority to certify the safety of products and to list certified products on a Web site that could be viewed by consumers.

Officials said that the plan would require significant budget increases for the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Food and Drug Administration.

In Congress last Tuesday, the Senate Commerce Committee approved without objection legislation that would increase penalties, let the product safety agency publicly disclose reports of defective products and increase the maximum penalty on violations to $100 million, from $1.8 million.

Senior Democrats in both houses called for the resignation of Nancy A. Nord, the acting head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, after she sent letters to Congress vigorously opposing the legislation. Ms. Nord’s letters closely resembled complaints raised by a coalition of manufacturing associations.

At the urging of industry groups, the White House has objected to a provision that would reward industry whistle-blowers for reporting defective products and another that would give state prosecutors the authority to enforce federal safety laws.

Consumer groups and Democratic lawmakers say those provisions are vital in restoring the credibility of federal safety efforts, while White House officials say the measures would encourage frivolous litigation.

CONSUMER PRODUCTS SAFETY COMMISSION CHAIR: DO NOT INCREASE BUDGET OR STAFF

From The New York Times:

The nation’s top official for consumer product safety has asked Congress in recent days to reject legislation intended to strengthen the agency, which polices thousands of consumer goods, from toys to tools.

On the eve of an important Senate committee meeting to consider the legislation, Nancy A. Nord, the acting chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, has asked lawmakers in two letters not to approve the bulk of legislation that would increase the agency’s authority, double its budget and sharply increase its dwindling staff.

Ms. Nord opposes provisions that would increase the maximum penalties for safety violations and make it easier for the government to make public reports of faulty products, protect industry whistle-blowers and prosecute executives of companies that willfully violate laws.

The measure is an effort to buttress an agency that has been under siege because of a raft of tainted and dangerous products manufactured both domestically and abroad. In the last two months alone, more than 13 million toys have been recalled after tests indicated lead levels that sometimes reached almost 200 times the safety limit.

Ms. Nord’s opposition to important elements of the legislation is consistent with the broadly deregulatory approach of the Bush administration over the last seven years. In a variety of areas, from antitrust to trucking and worker safety, officials appointed by President Bush have sought to reduce the role of regulation and government in the marketplace.