Worried about all those potentially hazardous toys coming in from China? Here's how worried your Consumer Product Safety Commission in Washington, D.C., is: It has only one full-time employee testing toys.

That ridiculous number is apparently OK with the agency's acting chairwoman Nancy Nord, who has riled legislators and consumer groups by campaigning against a Senate bill that would increase the consumer agency's federal funding so it can rebuild the agency's dramatically downsized staff.

Heads are rolling in China over bad toys, bad food, bad medicine and bad tires (admittedly, the crackdowns are more about protecting exports than protecting consumers). But even as consumer worries escalate in this country following the recall of more than 20 million toys this year, Nord prefers a hands-off approach to keep manufacturers happy. For her, the consumer protection reform act --unanimously approved by a Senate committee yesterday -- is "unnecessary."

"It's appalling that as someone who works with parents who have lost children, she would turn down added resources or powers to protect children," Nancy Cowles, executive director of Kids in Danger, a Chicago-based group, told us. "What's needed is an aggressive protector of consumer rights."

In the absence of any federal laws prohibiting lead in toys, Illinois is fortunate to have the Lead Poisoning Prevention Act. And our Children's Product Safety Act, making up for more federal laxity, requires stores to post recall notices, pull faulty items off shelves and attempt to contact customers who have purchased them. But the state has actually had to fight the federal government's consumer agency to uphold those laws.

For example, the Consumer Product Safety Commission tried unsuccessfully to prevent the removal of lead-treated vinyl bibs from local Wal-Mart stores.

"We've ended up in a position where we have had to essentially become a state CPSC simply to protect children," Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan told us Wednesday. "It can take anywhere from three months to three years before public information is released about recalls. Kids are killed and injured because CPSC is in cahoots with manufacturers."

The number of regulated products in the United States is soaring. Last year, imports had a price tag of more than $600 billion. But the agency's staff -- about 420 people -- is about half of what it was in the '80s.

The reform act, sponsored by Senators Daniel Inouye and Mark Pryor, would require pre-market testing for children's products, increase the maximum fine for violating product safety laws from $1.85 million to $100 million, make public reports on tainted products, protect industry whistle-blowers and help prosecute companies that violate safety regulations. It's just the kind of law a federal "consumer" agency would want.

Only a politics-first bureaucrat would find these provisions unnecessary. In pooh-poohing more money, Nord recalls the similar stance of another "small government" Bush appointee, deposed Veterans Affairs head Jim Nicholson. The Walter Reed Army Medical Center scandal happened on Nicholson's watch. One can only fear what's in store for kids if Nord gets her way on toys.

per http://www.nypirg.org

This year, PIRG found a children's nail polish containing dibutyl phthalate, or DBP. DBP has been linked to reproductive damage, mutations, skin and respiratory irritation, and may affect the nervous system. (Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet: Di-n-butyl Phthalate, New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services Fact Sheet, Revised June 2001, http://www.state.nj.us/health/eoh/rtkweb/0773.pdf) People can be exposed to DBP by inhalation or from skin contact. PIRG also found a children's cosmetic kit containing xylene. Xylene, also known as xylol or dimethyl benzene, is used as a solvent, in drugs, dyes, insecticides, lacquers and enamels, and in gasoline for airplanes. (Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet: Xylene, New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet, Revised May 1998,

http://www.state.nj.us/health/eoh/rtkweb/2014.pdf)Exposure to xylene can damage the liver and kidneys; cause headaches, nausea, and vomiting; and irritate the skin, eyes and throat. Repeated exposure to xylene can affect memory and concentration; it is also narcotic in high concentrations. (www.epa.gov/grt.akes/seahome/housewaste/house/toluenex.htm. Accessed 4 November 2002)

In previous years, PIRG has found children's cosmetics containing toluene. Toluene, also called methyl benzene, is a colorless flammable liquid. (Chemicals in the Environment: Toluene (CAS NO. 108-88-3), Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, August 1994.) Many companies use toluene as an additive in aerosol sprays, paints, spot removers, cosmetics, and perfumes. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, exposure to toluene occurs when people using products that contain toluene breathe it in, consume it, or absorb it through skin contact.(Ibid.) Toluene can irritatethe nose, throat, and eyes; cause dizziness, lightheadedness, and nconsciousness at high concentrations; and cause damage to the liver and kidneys. (Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet: Toluene, New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, Revised August 1998. www.state.nj.us/health/eoh/rtkeb/1866.pdf.)

PIRG urges parents to carefully read the labels and ingredients of children's products and urges parents to purchase only non-toxic nail polish and makeup kits, craft kits and other products.

per http://www.spoonerhealthsystem.com

The way kids play has stayed the same, but the rules on safety have changed considerably, with beloved toys such as marbles and balloons now seen as taboos in many households.

But despite a new generation of safety standards and public awareness of potential toy hazards, accidents still occur in startling numbers. More than 121,000 children 14 and under visit the emergeny room each year for toy related injuries, according to the National Safe Kids Campaign.

With the hopes of reducing that number, experts are spreading the word this Christmas season to make safety the top priority in buying gifts.

One of the worst hazads for all kids is perhaps one of the most seemingly innocent--balloons and specifically latex balloons. The problem, says Dr. Ellen Schuman, a spokeswoman for the Americn Aademy of Pediatrics, is children can choke on balloons.

"It's very common for kids to chew on latex balloons and balloon pieces, and if a child inhales one of those, it can totally block their airway and can be almost impossible to remove," she explains. "You can't see it because it's a little piece, and no matter how well you know how to o CPR, if you have a little piece of a balloon blocking your windpipe, you're not going to be getting air in there."

Schuman also strongly discourages giving motorized toys as gifts: "I worry about motorized stuff like those cars in which kids can actually sit in them and drive around outside. I think they're quite dangerous because kids just don't have the coordination or the judgement skills to use those kinds of things properly."

According to Angela Mickalide, program director for the campaign, a big problem isn't so much a question of toys that are unsafe, but toys that are inappropriate for a certain age.

"The problem comes in when you have toys that are meant for older children getting into the hands of younger children--toys that, for instance, will have small parts that younger kids can choke on or parts that have sharp edges or metal pieces coming out." That's something that's most likely to occur this time of year, when people other than a child's parents are buying toys.

"When you go to the store and you see the labeling for the age, Don't say, 'Oh, this is meant for a 4-year old, but I'll buy it for a 2-year-old because he's smart and can use it for a longer period of time," says Mickalide.

She suggests using creativity in giving gifts that deal with safety. For instance, instead of giving a child in-line skates, give them in-line skating lessons. Or give helmets and body pads with one of the scooters that are so popular this season.

Here are other suggestions:

*Avoid toys with small,removable parts. The small parts can pose a choking hazard to children under 3. Use a small-parts tester (which can be purchased at a specialty store) to measure the size of the toy or part. If the piece fits inside the tube, it is considered a choking hazard.

*Don't buy toys that produce loud noises. Toy guns and portable cassette recorders can permanently impair a child's hearing.

*Also avoid projectile toys. Propelled toys can cause cuts or serious eye injuries.

*Avoid toys with strings, straps or cords longer than 7 inches. Long strings and cords could strangle a child.

*Don't buy electrical toys. Electrical toys are a potential burn hazard. Avoid toys with a heating element or electrical plugs for chldren under 8.

*Don't buy toy cap guns. Paper roll, strip or ring caps can be ignited by the slightest friction and can cause serious burns.

In keeping toys age-appropriate, here are some guidelines:

*For infants, the most suitable toys for the first year include activity quilts, stuffed animals without button noses and eyes, bath toys, soft dolls, baby swings, cloth books and squeaky toys.

*For children ages 1 to 3, the best toys are books, blocks, fit-together toys, balls, push-and-pull toys, pounding toys and shape toys.

*For children ages 3 to 5, toys that are most suitable include nontoxic art supplies, books, videos, musical instruments and outdoor toys such as a baseball tee, slide or swing.

*For children 5 to 9, recommended toys inclue craft materials, jump ropes, puppets, books, electric trains (after 8) and sports equipment.

Check tape recorders and battery-operated toys regularly for loose or exposed wires. Don't let children change batteries.

*For children ages 9 to 14, appropriate gifts include computers, miroscopes, table and board games, and outdoor and team sports equipment. Make sure older children's toys are kept out of reach of younger children.

Parents and caregivers can get a free brochure on toy safety by writing to: Toy Brochure, National Safe Kids Campaign, 1301 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 1000, Washington, D. C. 20004.