Many Washington children may have to say goodbye to the toy dogs and cats they received this summer as prizes at libraries.
A high level of lead has been found in the toys, according to the state Department of Health.
Twenty-two libraries, including two in Snohomish County and one in Island County, purchased more than 3,000 of the toys for their summer reading programs. Kay O’Connell, Sno-Isle libraries children services manager, said about six dozen toys had already been given to children visiting libraries in Oak Harbor, Sultan and Arlington.
“We’re trying to inform the families, and we take this as our top priority,” said Leslie Moore, the managing librarian at the Arlington Public Library.
Eric Ossiander, a state Department of Health epidemiologist, said children could ingest the lead if they chew the toys. Lead poisoning can lead to learning disabilities and behavior problems.
Children younger than six are more vulnerable to lead poisoning because their brains are still developing, Ossiander said
Two of the toys, tested by the Indiana Department of Health, contained 0.4 percent and 0.24 percent lead, according to a press release from the state Department of Health. The maximum safety limit is 0.06 percent.
Highsmith Publications, the company that distributed the toys, has issued a voluntary recall of the product.
The Oak Harbor Library purchased 140 toys and had already given out 20.
“We would love to have the word out because we don’t have the contact information of the families who received the toys,” said Mary Campbell, the managing librarian at the Oak Harbor Library.
Denise Bugallo, a senior managing librarian at the Bothell Regional Library, said the staff has made about 200 calls to inform families who have received the rubber animals.
“Our staff took our personal time to talk to the families to make sure they discard the toys,” she said. “Hopefully, we caught all of them.”
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