WASHINGTON - TOY maker Mattel and a ubsidiary have agreed to pay a US$2.3 million (S$3.4 million) civil penalty for importing and selling toys from China with excessive levels of lead.
The penalty is part of a settlement the companies reached with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which announced on Friday, that the toymaker had knowingly violated a 30-year-old federal ban on lead paint in toys.
The companies deny having willfully violated the ban.
The penalty stems from a series of recalls by Mattel and its Fisher-Price subsidiary in 2007, when the companies recalled nearly 2 million popular Big Bird, Elmo, Dora and other toys because of excessive levels of lead found in the paint on the toys.
Barbie doll accessories and 'Sarge' toy cars were also part of the recalls.
The commission says the fine is the biggest for a lead paint violation involving children's toys.
Mattel and Fisher-Price were among dozens of manufacturers that yanked millions of Chinese-made toys from store shelves in the months leading up to the 2007 holiday shopping season.
The recalls made parents uneasy as they shopped for gifts for small children.
Lead poisoning in children can cause neurological damage, delayed mental and physical development, learning deficiencies, and other problems. -- AP
