Report: U.S. probes Mattel toy disclosures

WASHINGTON, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- The U.S. consumer safety agency is investigating the timeliness of Mattel Inc.’s disclosures before its China-made toy recall, a published report said Tuesday.

Neither Mattel nor the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission had any immediate comment on The Wall Street Journal report.

But Mattel Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert Eckert had told the Journal his company disclosed problems on its own timetable because it believed both the law and the commission's enforcement practices were unreasonable.

He said Mattel should be able to evaluate hazards internally before alerting any outsiders, regardless of what the law says.

A U.S. statute says manufacturers must report all claims of potentially hazardous product defects to the commission within 24 hours, with few exceptions.

While the 24-hour rule may be clear, enforcing it poses a challenge for the small agency, the Journal said.

The commission has limited resources and is only authorized to impose fines of less than $2 million against companies that spokeswoman Julie Vallese described as thinking "they can get away with delaying reporting," the Journal reported.

Mattel recalled a reported 9 million Chinese-made toys sold in the United States because of lead paint and potential choking hazards from small magnets.