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 May 14, 2005
Spider-Man Toy
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Spiderman's newest adversary is not as frightening as the Green Goblin, but he does possess the powers of litigation and may find himself and Kelloggs in court.

 

What could possibly be wrong with Cocoa Crispies?  A lot.

 

Shelia Dormody, Rhode Island Clean Water Action:

 

�It really seems horribly irresponsible�

 

Shelia Dormody of Rhode Island Clean Water Action says she's outraged to hear what this children's cereal company put in it's box...and she's not alone.

 

Julie Rogeness, concerned parent:

 

"It's Kelloggs, I was you know, shocked what can I say!"

 

The promotional toy inside boxes of certain children's cereals is an innocent looking spidey signal toy.  But it may not be so innocent; in fact, Connecticutďż˝s Attorney General is calling for stores to pull the boxes off store shelves.   The problem?  The toy contains a mercury battery.

 

Richard Blumenthal, CT Attorney General:

 

"Mercury has no place in children's toys because it is so highly toxic."

 

In Connecticut, the toy actually violates the state's zero-tolerance mercury law.  The battery is sealed within the toy and cannot be replaced. But what happens when it dies?  It gets thrown away and the mercury along with it.

 

Sheila Dormody, Clean Water Action:

 

There's no safe level of mercury, so we're looking into phasing in safer alternatives to those.

 

Connecticut's attorney general has written a letter to the Kellogg Company asking them to halt distribution of the cereal that contains the toy.  He says he may also consider action against stores that continue to sell the cereal boxes containing the spidey signals.

 

Environmentalists in Rhode Island had tried to pass a zero-tolerance mercury law, but were unable to.  What they did get passed was, in children's toys, as long as it is just the battery that contains mercury then it can be sold here.

 

 

 

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