Mattel Recalls Magnetic Doll Sets

3 Children Injured After Swallowing Pieces From Toy Sets

Mattel is recalling 2.4 million Polly Pocket doll play sets after three children suffered serious injuries from swallowing small magnetic parts, the second recall of a magnetic toy this year.

The recall comes as a District-based advocacy organization, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, warned consumers about magnets as part of its annual "Trouble in Toyland" report.

As magnets in children's toys, building sets and jewelry have become smaller and more powerful, they have increasingly become a potential safety hazard. Made from a combination of neodymium, iron and boron, the magnets are so strong that when swallowed or inhaled, they cling together and pinch internal organs enough to kill surrounding tissue, tear through stomach or intestinal lining and even cause death.

The Polly Pocket sets Mattel recalled, in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, contain dolls, plastic clothing, hair pieces and other accessories with imbedded 1/8 -inch-diameter magnets that can fall out. Mattel, the El Segundo, Calif., maker of Barbie, Fisher-Price and Tyco-brand toys, received 170 reports of the magnets coming out.

The three children who were injured ranged in age from 2 to 8. Each was hospitalized for intestinal perforations.

The recall does not affect play sets currently on store shelves, which are newer and have "quality-control enhancements," said CPSC spokeswoman Julie Vallese.

"All models that have the potential to have magnets fall out have been removed in advance of the announcement," Vallese said. The toys were sold from May 2003 to September 2006 and cost between $15 and $30.

An additional 2 million play sets were sold abroad, but the CPSC has jurisdiction only over products sold in the United States.

In its report yesterday, U.S. PIRG called on the CPSC to require labels on magnetic toys warning that magnets can cause injury and death and that medical attention should be sought immediately if a child swallows any.

The toy committee of ASTM International (formerly the American Society for Testing and Materials), which sets voluntary standards for various industries, met in September to discuss new labeling and testing requirements for magnetic toys. The committee should have new standards approved early next year, said Joan Lawrence, vice president of safety standards and regulatory affairs for the Toy Industry Association. The CPSC can recall toys that don't meet those standards.

The industry acted after a March recall of nearly 4 million Magnetix toys made by Mega Brands of Montreal.

At that time, the CPSC said it knew of 34 incidents involving small magnets, including one death and four serious injuries. A 22-month-old boy died after swallowing magnets that twisted his small intestine. Three children required surgery for intestinal perforations, and a 5-year-old had two magnets surgically removed from his lung.

In October, Mega agreed to pay $13.5 million to settle a lawsuit with families of 15 victims.

The company has redesigned its Magnetix toys so the magnets no longer fall out and has put a warning label on new models. The company also changed the packaging so the product is no longer marketed to 3-year-olds, but to children age 6 and over.

However, older versions of the toys without warning labels could be found on store shelves as recently as a few weeks ago, prompting U.S. PIRG to include them in its list of dangerous toys, along with toys that posed a choking or strangulation hazard, contained toxic chemicals or were so loud they could damage children's hearing.

Examples of products that may violate a ban on toys that pose a choking threat for children under 3 included: Wal-Mart's Kid Connection Mini Activity Cube, which has pegs that come out; and Target's Baby I'm Yours doll clothing, which include baby booties with small pearls that can easily come off.

U.S. PIRG also found toys marketed to kids between 3 and 6 that had small parts but didn't have the legally required label warning of a potential choking hazard. Examples included Mattel's Fisher-Price Loving Family Laundry Room, Tonka Lights & Sound Rescue Helicopter, and Mattel's Hot Wheels Monster Jam El Toro Loco.

The play sets being recalled are: Polly Pocket Polly Place Hangin' Out House; Polly Pocket Polly Place Treetop Clubhouse; Polly Pocket Spa Day; Polly Pocket Polly Place Totally Tiki Diner; Polly Pocket Quik-Clik Boutique; Polly Pocket Quik-Clik City Pretty Playset; Polly Pocket Quik-Clik Sporty Style Playset; and Polly Pocket Totally Zen Playset.