Mattel settles over lead-tainted toys

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HARTFORD, Conn., Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Prosecutors say Mattel Inc. has agreed to pay 38 states, including Connecticut, $12 million in a settlement related to lead-contaminated toys.

"Stopping lead-tainted toys sets a national model and sends a message -- lead in toys is intolerable," Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Monday.

Mattel also agreed to adopt new federal standards which lower allowable lead levels and to ensure all of its lead-tainted toys have been removed from stores, The Hartford (Conn.) Courant reported Tuesday.

The settlement emerged from an investigation begun in 2007 into lead-tainted toys imported from China for Mattel and Fisher Price, a Mattel subsidiary, the Courant reported.

"We believe we did get all the lead-tainted toys out of the stores," Blumenthal said. "But parents should always be vigilant. If it's Mattel or Fisher Price, it should be fine. But my basic attitude toward imported toys is trust but verify."