a205  0937  19 Nov 89
AM-Toy Bashers, Bjt,0661
Oooh Nooo, Mr. Bill! Not the Toy-Testing Lab!
By ROBERT M. ANDREWS
Associated Press Writer
    GAITHERSBURG, Md. (AP) - Even Scrooge, on his worst bah-humbug days,
might have shed a tear at the sight.
    What appears at first glance to be a jolly Santa's workshop in this
Washington suburb is actually a torture chamber for Christmas toys
that is worthy of the Spanish Inquisition.
    Working behind closed doors in a small room stacked high with
Yuletide goodies, Bob Hundemer, the Torquemada of the toy business,
is gleefully wrenching the nose off a cuddly teddy bear.
    Nearby, a bespectacled helper is calmly dismembering a stack of
dolls with blonde tresses, yanking off their arms without a trace of
emotion. At his elbow are the shattered remains of dump trucks,
airplanes and baby rattles, and bits of stuffing from disemboweled
toy animals.
    They are working in the toy testing laboratory of the U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission, and their tables are crowded with
diabolical devices specifically designed to fold, spindle and
mutilate - or worse.
    Clamps and torque wrenches are applied to the eyes of lovable toy
monkeys. Teething rings are dropped in pots of boiling water. Stuffed
bears are battered with finger-like probes.
    Is this guy the Grinch who stole Christmas, or what?
    ''No, I feel more like the good witch of the North,'' says Hundemer,
chief of the two-man laboratory which is housed in the drab former
barracks of an abandoned Nike missile site about 15 miles northwest
of Washington.
    With extra help to cope with the Christmas rush, Hundemer and his
assistant, Garfield Jenkins, work full time testing about 900 toys
annually for potential safety hazards to children.
    Hundemer estimates that more than two-thirds - many of them
mass-produced imports from Mexico or the Far East - flunk the
commission's stringent standards. They are either recalled for
redesigning or banned from the market as unfit for putting under the
Christmas tree.
    Last year, 245 toys were voluntarily recalled by manufacturers at
the agency's urging. Some of the worst offenders will be displayed at
a Dec. 1 news conference, when the commission will give its annual
Christmas warning to toy-buying parents.
    By far, the biggest threat posed by hazardous toys, which accounted
for 142,000 injuries and a minimum of 22 deaths last year, are small
parts that children can easily detach with their teeth or fingers and
put in their mouths, causing choking or asphyxiation.
    Most choking deaths involve balloons, marbles and other small balls,
says John E. Preston, a mechanical engineer who designed many of the
agency's toy-testing procedures. But balloons and marbles are exempt
from government safety regulations because of their universal
popularity as children's playthings.
    ''Can we tolerate the 10 deaths of children every year from choking
on balloons?'' Preston asked. ''On the other hand, we don't believe
the world is ready to accept a ban on balloons and marbles. We're
perplexed about what we can do.''
    Hundemer says he has ''compelling reasons'' for his personal
interest in toy safety as the parent of two small children.
    The government can't begin to test all the 150,000 different toys on
the market, he said, ''so don't depend on the government to provide
you with complete safety.'' Parents must play an active role in
monitoring toy safety.
    Look for durability and quality of construction, he says, and select
toys suitable for a child's age and skills. Avoid buying toys with
small parts or long cords for infants or toddlers.
    Be particularly cautious about small balls and toys that shoot
projectiles or contain electrical heating elements. Consult label
precautions and follow instructions. Supervise children at play, and
repair or discard damaged toys immediately.
    ''Don't be fooled when a clerk says 'we couldn't sell it if it
weren't safe,''' Hundemer said. ''That's not true, and people who
believe that are misguided.''
    
 
AP-NY-11-19-89 1223EST
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