Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch and the attorneys general of 37 other states have reached a settlement agreement with Mattel Inc. and its subsidiary, Fisher-Price Inc., resolving a 16-month long investigation into the events that resulted in a voluntary recall of the company’s toys for excessive lead paint during 2007.

The agreement, filed today in Providence County Superior Court, requires Mattel to make a payment of $12 million to the states by Jan. 30, 2009. Rhode Island’s share of the settlement, $198,636, will be allocated to the state’s General Fund.

“This settlement agreement came about because unsuitable, unsafe, and toxic toys and other products manufactured for children still make it on to the market, even when adults think they are buying a trusted name brand. It also demonstrates that globalization and increasing numbers of imports add to the challenges of monitoring, reporting on, recalling, and removing dangerous toys from circulation,” Lynch said. “One of the most significant elements of this agreement is that toys manufactured from now on must comply with the more stringent standards for lead that my colleagues and I insisted on. Lead paint does not belong in our homes. And it certainly doesn’t belong in products manufactured specifically for the infants and children of America.”

From Aug. 2, 2007, through Oct. 25, 2007, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled approximately 2 million Mattel and Fisher-Price toys manufactured in China, alleging that the toys contained excessive lead in accessible surface coatings. At the time of the recalls, the CPSC standard permitted for lead in accessible surface coatings was 600 parts per million. Lead levels taken of the recalled toys during the course of the states’ investigation, however, uncovered that levels not only exceeded the federal standard but also, in some instances, registered more than 10,000 parts per million and 50,000 parts per million.

The agreement reached by the attorneys general includes more stringent standards for accessible lead both in surface coatings and substrates, effective for toys manufactured after Nov. 30, 2008. Since the attorneys general first contacted Mattel in August 2007, Congress has enacted the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) that, starting in February 2009, provides more stringent standards for lead in surface coatings and substrates. Mattel has agreed with the attorneys general to phase in more stringent standards ahead of the timelines provided by the CPSIA.

Mattel also has agreed to notify the attorneys general if it confirms excessive lead in any of its products in violation of state or federal law, or of the consent judgment, and to work with the states to remedy such violations.

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