State Representative Rebekah Warren (D-Ann Arbor) today joined State Representative Alma Wheeler Smith (D-South Lyon) and local experts to discuss toy safety with interested parents. More than 40 families attended. Recent news reports and product recalls have shown that lead and other dangerous toxins are sometimes present in children's toys. Parents were able to have their children's toys tested at this event and also received radon test kits free of charge.
One local expert on hand was Dr. Mike Shriberg, Policy Director at the Ann Arbor-based Ecology Center. Rep. Warren helped Dr. Shriberg test toys with an X-ray device.
"There are a lot of questions about the safety of toys and how potentially dangerous they can be to children," said Rep. Warren. "While we may not be able to answer all of those questions definitively, we can hold toy manufacturers to high standards of safety and ensure that parents have access to the best information available to make informed choices."
In addition to Rep. Warren, Rep. Smith, and the Ecology Center, Washtenaw County, the Michigan Network for Children's Environmental Health, Clean Water Action and PIRGIM also sponsored this event.