WASHINGTON (AP) — More than a half-million Chinese-made products were recalled Thursday, including ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' and Baby Einstein toys, because they contain dangerous levels of lead.
Coin-shaped ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' flashlights and soft, textured Baby Einstein blocks were among the 544,000 products recalled, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced. The recall also includes Totally Me! Funky Room Decor Set decorating kits imported and sold by Toys ''R'' Us Inc. and a variety of wooden toys imported and sold by KB Toys Inc.
The flashlight's leather strap, the back of the decorating kit's mirror, the blue Baby Einstein block and the wooden toys have surface paint that contains high levels of lead, which is toxic if ingested by young children.
Under current regulations, children's products found to have more than .06 percent lead accessible to users are subject to a recall.
CPSC spokeswoman Julie Vallese noted that the effects of lead are cumulative.
''A lot of what is being recalled is because it violates the law, not that there is an imminent health risk,'' she said.
The recall also included cups shaped like Frankenstein's head with high levels of lead in their surface paint. Other products not necessarily for children were: key chains containing high levels of lead, as well as bookmarks and journals with lead-tainted surface paint.
''There will be more recalls because of lead violations, but we also anticipate that we will begin to see fewer and fewer of them as a big portion of the marketplace will have been tested,'' Vallese said. ''What you're seeing now is the result of a systematic approach to going through inventories.''
