Firm to pay $200K after importing lead-laden toys

(AP) — A Massachusetts company has agreed to pay a $200,000 penalty to settle allegations it violated U.S. law when it imported Thomas and Friends, Curious George and Winnie the Pooh toys with high levels of lead.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission alleged that Schylling Associates Inc. of Rowley, Mass., imported tens of thousands of toys that violated the federal lead paint ban and then distributed them to retail stores. These items included spinning top toys and tin pail toys with Thomas and Friends and Curious George graphics.

The noncompliant toys also included spinning top toys with circus scenes and Winnie the Pooh graphics.

The consumer safety agency said Thursday that Schylling knew or should have known by 2002 that most of the toys didn't meet the lead paint standard and didn't immediately tell the government about the noncompliant toys. The company reported these toys to the agency in 2007, and the agency later announced that year that the company was recalling the products.

In agreeing to the settlement, Schylling Associates denies that it knowingly violated the law.

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On the Net:

Schylling Associates Inc.: http://www.schylling.com/

Consumer Product Safety Commission: http://www.cpsc.gov/