OSPIRG warns of dangerous toys for holiday season

The Oregon State Public Interest Research Group Foundation has released its latest “Trouble in Toyland” report and list of dangerous toys. It says despite improvements from recent safety regulations, there are still dangerous toys on store shelves.

“Year after year we continue to find hazardous chemicals and choking hazards on store shelves,” Campaign Organizer for OSPIRG Brittany Cronin said Tuesday in Bend. “Choking hazards are big ones.

OSPIRG used 200 toys in its study this year. In the 30 years of reports, the findings have resulted in nearly 150 recalls. The group releases this study every year before Black Friday.

“Toys with strong magnets can actually rip apart a child’s intestines if they were to swallow those magnets,” Cronin said.

OSPIRG visited Crawmer’s Critterz in Bend on Tuesday to point out things to look for on store shelves this year.

Small balls less than 1.75 inches in diameter are too small for children under the age of 3. Unsafe levels of chromium were also found in three toys in the study.

For more information, visit OSPIRG’s website:http://ospirgfoundation.org/reports/orf/trouble-toyland-2015