Company Sits on Information about Lead for Five Years
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 08. 9.07
Thomas the Tank Engine probably wasn't a very good role model anyways, burning coal and spewing CO2 and mercury, and his licensees certainly were not too concerned about it either. Kenny noted recently that many Chinese-made Thomas & Friends products have been recalled for lead paint; now we learn that Schylling Associates, maker of a spinning top, discovered that the wooden handle on the top had 40 times the legal limit for lead and replaced it with a plastic knob, but sat on the information for five years without a ordering a recall. Now, in light of the other recalls, they have got around to it, looking for 24,000 tops that kids have been sucking on since they were sold between 2001 and 2002. Asked why, a spokesman answered profoundly: "I can't answer that. ... I had just started here."
How many companies are sitting on information like this? Are there no rules demanding disclosure? ::Chicago Tribune
They’re two they're four they're six they're eight
Big business spokesmen speaking late
Of red and green and brown and blue
Paints filled with lead your kids can chew
All with different roles to play
In corporate boardrooms far away
Up the hills their profits go
Who’s to say five years is slow?