Not all of the stories are specifically related to plastics, but there was another flurry of headlines today about the safety of toys -- many of them made in China -- that contain lead.

Consumer Reports magazine, for example, had this blog item about Fisher-Price pulling a plastic toy blood pressure cuff off the market because of complaints there about lead content -- but keeping the product on store shelves elsewhere because it is "fully compliant" with federal regulations.

That strikes me as being a odd reaction. If the product is safe, why take it off the market in Illinois? But if it's dangerous, why keep it on store shelves elsewhere?

Meanwhile, the Michigan-based Environmental Health Project of the Ecology Center garnered a lot of attention with its report on lead and toys, including this blog item in the Wall Street Journal, and this related story.

My kids are beyond toy age -- can anyone please find lead in Ugg boots and Coach purses? -- but I imagine that some parents are going to be very confused about what toys are safe this Christmas season. Will this story disappear after the Christmas shopping season, or will the public -- and regulators -- care enough to do something about it in early 2008?