CONSUMER RIGHTS
Toys must carry ISI mark
Pushpa Girimaji

IN the US where every toy-related accident is reported, carefully tabulated and analysed, the numbers are staggering. In 2005, for example, as many as 2,02,300 children under the age of 15 were treated at various hospital emergency rooms for injuries caused by toys. The same year 20 children died in accidents involving toys. This is despite the fact that the US Product Safety Commission not only monitors complaints from consumers and prompts recalls of unsafe toys, but also continuously launches programmes to educate consumers on toy safety.

In fact the commission says that because of its efforts, the number has come down since 2001 when such toy-related injuries were 2,55,100. In the UK, where toy safety is governed by Toy Safety Regulations, accidents involving toys are estimated to be around 40,000 annually. In the UK all toys carry the "CE" symbol, which is the manufacturer’s declaration that it meets with all toy safety laws and standards.

What could be the number of toy-related accidents in India? It’s anybody’s guess. Our toy market may be smaller, but certainly not safer. Neither do we have a system of monitoring such accidents, nor any regulation to standardise and control the quality of toys sold in the market.

The Bureau of Indian Standards has published certain standards for toys. Part I deals with safety aspects related to mechanical and physical properties. Part II deals with flammability requirements. Part III pertains to migration of certain elements. Then there is the standard on the safety of electric toys. But the standards have not been used by the government to regulate the toy industry. They, therefore, remain unused, gathering dust in Manak Bhawan.
Toy–related safety hazards can broadly be categorised into three groups — mechanical, electrical and chemical. If you check with paediatricians, they will tell you of small parts getting lodged in children’s noses and ears, sometimes even leading to death. There are also cases of sharp edges of toys causing cuts in children’s tongues or unstable toys causing a fall and fractures. Electric toys, on the other hand, can cause burn injuries from leaking batteries. There have also been cases of children swallowing small batteries.

But what goes mostly unreported and even unnoticed is the chemical toxicity caused by toys. Toys made from poor quality plastic can contain any amount of dangerous additives and toxic material. These may well get absorbed into the child’s system when the child puts such toys into his mouth. The bright paints used on them could be even more toxic. The worst part is that parents in these cases will not even be aware of the dangers inherent in such toys and, therefore, do not even get their children checked up for chemical toxicity, if they are found to be having some health problem.

But till today the government has not realised its responsibility vis-`E0-vis the toys sold in the market, and has not taken any step towards rendering the toys safe.

The government should make BIS regulations mandatory. This will not only force local manufacturers but also those exporting toys to India, including China, to conform to Indian standards. It will also authorise customs officials to reject imports that do not have the mandatory ISI mark. But at the same time, it should constitute a monitoring committee consisting of representatives of the BIS, scientific organisations and NGOs to monitor implementation because state governments have a poor record of implementing laws, particularly those concerning consumer safety.

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