"Now that Debrowski has apologized to China, it seems only fair for Mattel’s conniver-in-chief, Robert Eckert, to explain to American consumers why his company chose to scapegoat Chinese subcontractors while keeping the true death-peddlers on Mattel’s payroll."

Yeah, at a minimum I expect Eckert to do something more than kick the dirt around and say "gee, we’re sorry". I wrote about this last month, saying at the time that Eckert was guilty of at least too much corporate doublespeak. Here we are a mere 5 weeks later and Mattel, having recalled 20 million toys in just the last year, is admitting they don’t in fact have adequate quality standards, despite Eckert’s insistence to the contrary.

Around the Nolan house we have cleared out any suspect toys, and I’m a heck of a lot more conscious about checking where things are manufactured before buying anything for my child now. I still have a number of questions, including:

1) What is the estimate for how many toys Mattel has manufactured over the years that would be suspect for lead paint?

2) Scientists have known for over 50 years that lead is dangerous for children, and the U.S. banned lead in paint almost 35 years ago. Fast forward to today and someone is still making paint with lead in it? If it’s not safe for U.S. children then it is not safe for any children and lead in paint should be universally banned. No child anywhere in the world should ever be exposed to lead in paint.

Ever wonder why lead was added to paint in the first place? It makes the pigments brighter and less susceptible to fading… something titanium dioxide does equally well. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is abundant (a lot of it comes from swamps in Florida, I saw a really cool History Channel program on it) so it can’t be suggested that it is a cost or availability issue for manufacturers. TiO2 is also safe, used in common products like latex house paint, toothepaste, dry coffee creamer, and sunscreen.

No, the reason lead is still used in paint is because some asshole sits back and knows that lead is a few cents cheaper and they can pawn it off somewhere in the world, and they really don’t give a crap about whether or not some faceless child has behavioral problems, learning disabilities, seizures, or dies.