Esther Bethard was just 10 months old when she died last July after eating one of the water beads contained in a toy kit. After her death, Buffalo Games recalled the water bead kit, which was marketed under the Chuckle & Roar brand.
As ABC reported, the little beads were not given to Esther, but to another child. But they can roll or bounce and she apparently found at least one and swallowed it. Other injuries and deaths have also been associated with water beads, which have been broadly available in a variety of toys and from different brands.
Target immediately pulled that item from its shelf. Now major retailers, including Walmart, Amazon and Target, among others — are also voluntarily removing all the water bead products marketed to children as toys, sensory play or arts and crafts because they’re dangerous, even potentially lethal, if swallowed.
Per UPI.com, “Amazon was the first to announce its new policy, saying it would voluntarily stop selling the tiny balls — made out of absorbent polymer material — by Dec. 22.” In the meantime, health experts and lawmakers are telling people to get rid of any they have around — and not to buy more in the interim before the beads are pulled by retailers.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has been warning parents and other consumers about dangers associated with the popular beads, which are tiny but were crafted to expand in water, growing to 100 times their size when wet. In its safety alert in September, the commission noted they “can cause severe discomfort, vomiting, dehydration, intestinal blockages and life-threatening injuries” and surgery may be needed to retrieve them.
The beads are made of an extremely absorbent polymer. And CNN Business reported that because they’re made up mostly of water, X-rays often do not show them.
The commission has reported deaths and thousands of emergency department visits linked to the beads.
The major retailers specifically noted that water beads designed to appeal to kids are being removed. They don’t address whether those not targeted to kids will also be removed.
CBS notes that the water beads are often purchased for older siblings, but “the expanding beads have found their way into the stomachs, intestines, ears, noses, and even lungs of curious infants and toddlers.”
Last month, Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., introduced legislation aimed at placing a national ban on beads marketed to kids, CNN reported.
“They are specifically marketed to kids. In a single small package you can have 25, 50 or even 75,000 of these beads and it just takes one to cause harm to a child,” he said at a news conference. “They are not labeled as dangerous to small children, there’s no warning, and they’re not hard to get.”
Pallone told CBS News that his search on Amazon for water bead products in November turned up 3,000, “so it’s very widespread. No warnings are going to be enough. They have to be banned.”
“Regulatory steps that can be taken by (the safety commission) to prevent water beads from being on store shelves could take years and still face court challenges,” Consumer Product Safety Commission chair Alex Hoehn-Saric said at a news conference reported by CBS News. “Legislation is a much more direct way. It puts in protections much more quickly and definitely.”