A tradition, which originated in Germany, is that a child who misbehaved during the year would receive only a lump of coal in his or her Christmas stocking. This year that piece of coal has morphed into a toxic toy, either manufactured with, or coated with one or more toxic chemicals. Obviously no parent is going to knowingly expose their children to something toxic, but vigilance is advised when choosing toys this year.

Some of the most frequently identified toxic materials are lead and polyvinyl chloride plastics that include phthalates, which have been used to soften such items as baby teethers and the rubber ducky, a bath-time toy.

Lead is not required in any biological process and is a neurotoxin that affects learning, behavior and ultimately causes irreparable brain damage. The phthalates in PVC plastics have been shown to disrupt hormones, and are suspected of causing lesions in liver and kidney tissue and to predispose humans to certain types of cancer. Burning toys made of PVC plastics is ill advised as combustion of these plastics releases the highly toxic and carcinogenic compound, dioxin. Mercury, another heavy metal, and several other toxic chemicals have been identified in some toys.

So, what is a parent to do? In the short-term for this year’s gift toys visit the Web site www.healthytoys.org, which is hosted by the Alliance for a Clean and Healthy Maine. For more Web sites that sell safe toys made of renewable resources contact Co-op America at editors@coopamerica.org.

In the longer view at the national level, parents need to express their concerns to their congressional representatives about the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission staffing and current funding, because part of the problem lies with increasing imports of contaminated products. It is evident that testing by some companies is inadequate, federal regulation is lax and toxic toys are discovered usually after they are on the store shelves. It hasn’t helped that the CPSC budget has been cut by half since 1972, the year it was established.

News outlets have been flooded with dozens of headlines this past summer and fall regarding recalls of toxic products that our children put in their mouths, play with, or wear. At the same time, the CPSC has been given little authority and limited resources to regulate or restrict use of these chemicals. Lead-contaminated toys from China are just one red flag. The real issue is that no inclusive government oversight of chemicals used to manufacture toys and children’s products exists – even for those products made in the U.S.

At the state level Maine has been a leader in taking on environmental issues; the need to be proactive to protect the health of children and the environment from toxic chemicals is obvious. Currently, some companies sell products to children without adequately testing them for health and safety. A better business practice would be to require testing of children’s products based on guidelines with established standards for safety before the products are put on our store shelves.

We need to identify those chemicals used in children’s products that are toxic and inform the public about them. Those toxic chemicals for which safe and effective alternative compounds can be substituted should be eliminated from the manufacturing process. Research and development of safer alternative chemicals should be encouraged and funded, and at a minimum, if a product contains a toxic compound it should be labeled so that the consumer can make an informed choice.

The BDN provided a timely service to its readers with the Dec. 6 story about the Web site to help parents select safe toys. Perhaps it is now time for BDN readers to encourage the Legislature to enact a bill to comprehensibly address the issue of toxic chemicals in children’s products in Maine.

Jerry Longcore is a retired biologist who lives in Orono.