Wooden Toy Alphabet Blocks Recalled

WASHINGTON, DC (Dec. 8) -- The M.W. Kasch Company, Mequon, Wisconsin, in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) today announced the recall of 8,400 sets of wooden toy alphabet blocks.

According to CPSC laboratory tests, paint used on some of these blocks has a lead content which exceeds the current permissible level of 0.5%. The agency's lead-in-paint regulation is intended to reduce the risk of lead poisoning in children who may ingest paint chips or peelings. Effective February 28, 1978, the maximum permissible level for paint used on toys manufactured after that date will be reduced to 0.06%.

The blocks being recalled were packaged in a plastic bag, either 15 or 28 to a set, with a cardboard label stapled at the top stating "ABC Educational Blocks - Made in Taiwan for Skyline International, Milwaukee, Wisconsin U.S.A." The 15-block set retailed for about $1.35 and the 28-block set for about $3.00. The blocks are painted either red, green, yellow or blue and the letter background is white.

The blocks have been sold since March 1976 in the following states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Consumers who have a set of these blocks should return them to the store where purchased for a full refund.

A pre-Christmas survey by the Commission of 41 retail stores throughout the U.S. turned up other toys which the agency will be investigating further.