Washington Personal Injury Blog - Toxic Substances

Children's Toys, Purses And Pen Cases Recalled

Chrissie Cole — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:10:00 GMT

Daiso California, in conjunction with the CPSC, announced a voluntary recall of Children’s Toys, Purses and Pen Cases due to excessive levels of lead, which violate the federal lead paint ban.

One of the toys, an inflatable baseball bat, contains excessive levels of DEHP, a federal phthalate violation.

To this date, there have been no reports of incidents or injuries associated with the recalled items.

The recall involves: balancing toys in the shape of dragonflies, children’s purses in the shape of the head of a lion, frog or bear, children’s purses with rainbow stripes, children’s pen cases shaped like a piece of candy with stitching “cool ice cream,” “sweet cake,” or “fad hamburger” on the front, and inflatable baseball bats with “Home Run” printed on the side.

Consumers should take the recalled items from children immediately and contact Daiso for a full refund or free replacement.

Call Daiso toll-free at (888) 580-8841 or visit www.daisorecall.com.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Alaska Airlines Uses Toxic Ethylene Glycol To Deice Its Aircraft

Alisa Brodkowitz — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 14:26:35 GMT

After the events on December 24, 2008, where passengers on Alaska Airlines flight 528 were exposed to deicing fluid, many have inquired asking if Alaska uses Ethylene Glycol (more toxic) or Propylene Glycol (less toxic) as a deicing fluid. The answer is that Alaska Airlines uses the more toxic solution, Ethylene Glycol.

I recently came across an article describing the physiological effects of exposure to ethylene glycol. I am concerned that the passengers on flight 528 were not told what they were breathing, were not told that it was dangerous and were not told which side effects to be alert to. This was no harmless substance, it was toxic.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Alisa Brodkowitz

Tainted milk and lawyers

Don Jacobs — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 21:04:17 GMT

Most of us have read about the tainted milk crisis in China. Melamine, a chemical substance was found in milk and many milk products sold for human consumption. The chemical was added to watered-down milk to artificially increase the protein content. Melamine is a toxic chemical and dangerous stuff, particularly to young children. It can ruin kidneys and create kidney stones. Babies are particularly vulnerable to kidney stones. In China, over 50,000 children became ill and four deaths were reported from kidney stone complications. All from drinking powdered milk formula. Don’t expect the Chinese government to do much to compensate the victims. China’s citizens have little hope of recovering compensation for harms caused by corrupt business practices. Their civil justice system is run by the Communist Party. As a result, companies that sell tainted products, particularly state owned companies, rarely suffer financial consequences. Lawyers do exist in China and some do make valiant efforts to help citizens recover damages for sickness or injury caused by tainted food products. Unfortunately, the government puts tremendous pressure on these lawyers to turn people away. Making it difficult to obtain a lawyer is the best type of tort reform. It doesn’t matter what rights you have if you have no way to enforce them. Corporations in the United States regularly lobby federal and state legislatures for new laws making it more difficult to sue and recover damages if their products harm someone. Capping what a consumer can agree to pay their lawyer seems to be the latest new tort reform idea being sold to the public. We may soon have more and more in common with the citizens of China.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Don Jacobs