Things are going from bad to worse for the folks in charge of Mattel as they announced the second massive toy recall in as many weeks. After originally recalling several hundred thousand children’s toys over lead-paint fears, Mattel issues a press release today stating that a number of other toys have been added to that recall. They also announced a new danger posed by tiny magnets contained inside a popular brand of children’s toys. Expert health and medical blogs were among the first to break the news over this latest Chinese recall controversy.   Dr Gwenn’s Healthblog has been actively documenting the lead paint crisis since its beginning. In her latest post titled “what’s in your toy box”, she offered her expert opinion on the dangers posed by the recalled products and what parents should do if they believe their child could be affected. She declared that “the Mattel scare announced today is even more alarming because the risk to kids is more immediate and potentially fatal.”  She also elaborated on what, specifically, was recalled by Mattel this time around “the recalled vehicles include 436,000 total toys, the “CARS” die-cast vehicle line. The other recall includes certain dolls, figures, play sets and accessories that may release small, powerful magnets.” Dr Gwenn’s best advice for parents whose children have made contact with the toys was to “alert their pediatrician immediately. A simple x-ray can detect if indeed the child had swallowed the magnet and next steps can be taken to remove the magnet.” The Wall Street Journal Healthblog also featured a post about the details of the latest toy recall. In it, they offered some additional insight into the serious problems that can develop if children swallow the magnets in the recalled toys. Their post stated that a child swallowing one magnet was not particularly serious, but a child swallowing two could be in imminently fatal danger due to the fact that “the attraction between two magnets can draw them together from different parts of the intestinal tract and cause serious trouble… Those obstructions and perforations can require surgery and may cause serious injury or even death.” The WSJ post quoted a news release from Mattel stating that they have been actively trying to correct the problem associated with these magnets, but that toys created during the past several years would all need to be recalled. “Mattel introduced “enhanced magnet retention systems” earlier this year, according to a statement it released today. But it is recalling millions of magnetized toys made over the past five years, before it introduced those improvements.” This is all just the latest chapter in a seemingly endless parade of common products that have been rendered potentially dangerous due to lax quality assurance and a lack of accountability from Chinese subcontractors. Having firmly damaged the reputation of Chinese exports, these recalls have prompted a series of investigations by Chinese government officials that have resulted in accusations, jail time and in one case: suicide. The Parent Dish blog’s latest post offered some details about the suicide of the owner of the Chinese firm that was the epicentre of the recall controversy. The author of the post, Sandy Maple, asked a particularly poignant question “if you are like me, you’ve been wondering how someone who was responsible for exposing hundreds of thousands of children to a hazardous substance could live with himself? Turns out, he couldn’t.” Maple went on to explain that “Zhang Shuhong, co-owner of Lee Der Industrial Company, hung himself this weekend. His company manufactured the 967,000 toys that were recalled earlier this month due to high levels of lead in the paint.” Apparently, suicide is not uncommon for public dignitaries and high profile people who have been publicly disgraced in a manner such as this. One could imagine that it would require only a matter of time and several more recalls for something similar to happen a little closer to home. ABOUT HEALTHEDIA

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