Never Better | All Things Considered

Author's note--Toys containing rare-earth magnets continue to be sold. In March 2008 more Magnetix sets were recalled due to the magnets coming loose. Please send a message to the manufacturers and retailers by refusing to buy these seemingly attractive, but potentially lethal, toys. Other brands with magnets have been recalled as well this year.

Dangerous Toys Still for Sale

Despite two recalls by the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, dangerous Magnetix toys can still be bought by unwary consumers.

In November 2005, twenty-one-month-old Kenny W. Sweet, Jr., of Redmond, Washington, swallowed eight tiny, powerful magnets from his older brother’s birthday gift. The magnets, which had fallen out of the Magnetix construction set, blocked his intestines, and within hours he was dead.

Three more children, ages 3 to 8, did not die, but they suffered intestinal injuries requiring surgery. And a 5-year-old boy had a magnet surgically removed from his lung.

Responding to at least 34 incidents, the CPSC issued a voluntary recall of 3.8 million Magnetix building sets in March of last year. The Commission urged consumers to stop using the product immediately and to return the toy to the retailer for a suitable replacement or refund.

The dangerous toys, however, continued to be sold. And they continued to injure children. In February of this year, 3-year-old Tegan Leisy of Fort Collins, Colorado, swallowed several Magnetix magnets. The magnets partially blocked his bowel and punctured 11 holes in his intestine. Six inches of his intestine had to be removed.

This week, in response to at least 1500 incidents in which magnets broke apart from the toy, the CPSC issued an expanded recall. The 4 million additional Magnetix sets do not carry the warning label, “CAUTION: Do not ingest or inhale magnets. Attraction of magnets in the body may cause serious injury and require immediate medical care.” And the sets do not indicate on the packaging that they are intended for children ages six and older.

Consumers should be aware that the Magnetix toys are dangerous not only for young children. Ten children between the ages of 6 and 11 have also been injured.

Until satisfactory standards for manufacturers are set, retailers and consumers should take action.

Retailers, at the very least, should post warning signs adjacent to toys that have been part of “replacement only” recalls. Consumers need to know that the product can harm or kill a loved one. Retailers can act more responsibly by refusing to stock hazardous toys, even if they are labeled for older children.

Consumers can stay informed about recalls by going to the website, www.recalls.gov. To have e-mail alerts sent to your computer, sign up at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.asp.

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) says that magnetic toys are among the most dangerous for children. Mandatory standards, they say, are necessary and all magnetic toys should carry warning labels. Alison Cassidy, director of U.S. PIRG, warns that “magnets can wreak havoc inside the body” and that ingesting or aspirating small magnets requires immediate medical attention.

“I can’t believe it,” Tegan Leisy’s father said about the Magnetix sets. “They’re still being sold. That’s what baffles me.”

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