Missouri to receive $488,878 in nationwide settlement with Mattel over sale of toys containing excessive lead paint

Missouri Attorney General's Office - Press Release Jefferson City, Mo. - Toy manufacturer Mattel and its subsidiary Fisher Price will implement stringent procedures to avoid manufacturing products with lead paint and pay the state of Missouri $488,878 under a consent judgment obtained today by the Attorney General's Office. Missouri was part of the executive committee that negotiated the $12 million nationwide settlement involving 42 states, filed today in Cole County Circuit Court. Following a series of recalls of Mattel and Fisher Price products in 2007, the Attorney General's Office launched a 16-month investigation into the events that led to the recall, the company's quality assurance testing and procedures, and Mattel's recall procedures. At the time of the recalls, the standard permitted for lead in accessible surface coatings was 600 parts per million. Lead levels taken of the recalled toys during the course of the states' investigation uncovered amounts in excess of this standard. In some instances, surface coatings tested at over 10,000 and 50,000 parts per million. Since the investigation, Mattel has implemented more stringent quality control procedures, in cooperation with the Attorneys General. Today's agreement reached by the Attorneys General includes tougher standards for accessible lead in toys, effective for toys manufactured after November 30, 2008. Since the Attorneys General first began investigating Mattel in August 2007, Congress has enacted the Consumer Product Safety Improvements Act (CPSIA) which now provides more stringent standards for the amount of lead in toys starting in February 2009. Missouri's Attorney General Office was instrumental in ensuring this federal law contains strong enforcement provisions. Mattel has agreed with the Attorneys General to phase in the tougher standards ahead of the timelines provided by the CPSIA. Mattel has also agreed with the Attorneys General to notify them if it confirms excessive lead in any of its products and to work with the Attorneys General to remedy such violations. In addition, Mattel will pay $12 million to the participating states, including $488,878 to the state of Missouri, to resolve the case. -- http://MissouriNetizen.com http://www.bransonedge.com http://www.bransonmissouri.missourinetizen.com