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Author Topic:   Aqua Dots Toy Made In China Laced With DHB / Date Rape Drug
Mirandee
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From: South of the Thumb Taurus, Pisces, Cancer
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posted November 09, 2007 02:39 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Mirandee     Edit/Delete Message
Mother Describes Reaction To GHB-Laced Toy
Aqua Dots Pulled From Shelves

POSTED: 1:51 pm PST November 8, 2007
UPDATED: 10:20 pm PST November 8, 2007


A mother said Thursday she knew something was terribly wrong when her 20-month-old son began to stumble and started vomiting. He had just ingested a popular toy that contains a chemical that turns into a powerful drug sometimes known as the 'date rape' drug when eaten.

It was the latest Chinese-made toy pulled from shelves in North America.

Shelby Esses said her son Jacob fell and went limp after getting into his older sister's Aqua Dots set, which was recalled Wednesday by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

"That's when we knew what he had eaten and that things were pretty bad," she said.

Aqua Dots, a highly popular holiday toy sold by Australia-based Moose Enterprises, are beads that can be arranged into designs and fused when sprayed with water. The toy was pulled from shelves in North American and Australia after scientists found they contain a chemical that converts into the so-called date rape drug when eaten. Two children in the U.S. and three in Australia were hospitalized after swallowing the beads.

Scientists say a chemical coating on the beads can metabolize into the drug gamma hydroxy butyrate. When eaten, the compound - made from common and easily available ingredients - can induce unconsciousness, seizures, drowsiness, coma and death.

Dr. Matt Jaeger, of Arkansas Children's Hospital, treated Jacob and said he was very worried when he saw him.

"It was pretty dramatic," he said "He was unconscious in this coma for about six hours. And then over the course of just a few minutes, went from being completely asleep to wide awake and playing like nothing ever happened."

Meanwhile, toy sets seized in Hong Kong were being tested Thursday, a customs official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of policy. If the tests come back positive for the chemical, suppliers in Hong Kong could face a year in jail and fines of $12,877, she said.

A spokeswoman for the CPSC said Thursday that parents should keep the toy out of children's hands.

"If a child ingests them the glue turns into a toxic substance and it's very serious," Julie Vallese, a spokeswoman for the CPSC, said. "We want parents very much to heed this warning."

Vallese said two U.S. children had fallen into "comatose" conditions from the Aqua Dots. The children have since recovered, she said.

Retailer Toys 'R' Us Inc. said it issued a "stop sale" on the entire Spin Master Aqua Dots product line Tuesday in its North American stores and on its Web site. "We understand that Spin Master and U.S. regulatory authorities are investigating this product and we have asked Spin Master to fully explain what it believes happened," it said.

A company spokeswoman for Moose Enterprises' Hong Kong office said the production of the toy was outsourced to a mainland Chinese factory. She refused to elaborate and referred all further requests for comment to the company's head office in Australia.

The toys were supposed to use 1,5-pentanediol, a nontoxic compound found in glue, but instead contained the harmful 1,4-butanediol, which is widely used in cleaners and plastics. The Food and Drug Administration in 1999 declared the chemical a Class I Health Hazard, meaning it can cause life-threatening harm.

Both chemicals are manufactured in China and elsewhere, including by major multinational companies, and are also marketed over the Internet.

It's not clear why 1,4-butanediol was substituted. However, there is a significant difference in price between the two chemicals. The Chinese online trading platform ChemNet China lists the price of 1,4 butanediol at between about $1,350-$2,800 per metric ton, while the price for 1,5-pentanediol is about $9,700 per metric ton.

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Randall
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From: Columbus, GA USA
Registered: Nov 2000

posted November 11, 2007 01:47 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Randall     Edit/Delete Message

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