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
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- Green Glossary: Bagasse
- Is Your Kitchen Garden Toxic? 5 Ways To Fix Polluted Soil For Safe Homegrown Food
- Can Your Fishing Habits Save the Coral Reefs?
- Forget Going Green Because It's the Right Thing to Do—Go Green to Make Your Neighbors Jealous
- Travel Green and Save Money without Giving Up Anything (Except Your Carbon Footprint)
- Cure Your Toxic Yard: Plants That Extract Lead And Other Buried Pollutants
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?