U.S. regulators stop imports of hazardous toy dolls

   U.S. authorities have seized more than 200,000 toy dolls from China at several ports of entry this year because of high concentrations of phthalates, a group of banned chemical compounds.
   U.S. Customs officers, assisted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, confiscated 10 shipments valued at almost $500,000 at the ports of Chicago; Dallas; Los Angeles; Norfolk, Va.; Memphis, Tenn.; Newark, N.J.; Portland, Ore.; and Savannah, Ga., according to Customs and Border Protection.
   All the toys came from a single manufacturer, according to a CBP official who spoke on background.
   The Commercial Targeting and Analysis Center (CTAC) in Washington targeted the shipments beginning in April because of safety concerns for children. Officials zeroed in on the shipments as high risk after using shipping documentation and intelligence to identify key commonalities in the hazardous products.
   The CPSC has permanent staff assigned to the CTAC so it can coordinate risk assessments of inbound goods and easily share information with CBP so that faster hold/release decisions can be made. The CPSC also has inspectors at several major ports to help CBP examine shipments and make admissibility decisions.