Company Asks Stores to Stop Selling Toys Linked to Asbestos

Four days before Christmas, Planet Toys Inc. asked stores to remove the its CSI Fingerprint Examination Kit from their shelves after some tests revealed samples of asbestos.

The New York toy manufacturer claimed to have sent a “stop sale” notice as an investigation is under way.

The announcement came about three weeks after the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit advocacy group, called on stores to remove the toys from their shelves. Lab studies from the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization showed asbestos in some samples of the kit’s fingerprint dust.

A spokesman with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which regulates product safety, said the federal agency is investigating the claims but could not say whether an official recall would be issued.

Walgreens stores removed the toy kits from their shelves and is conducting its own investigation, said spokeswoman Carol Hively. “It’s a temporary measure while we see for ourselves,” she said.

Officials at Planet Toys had no immediate comment.

Planet Toys: www.planettoys.com.