Yesterday I went shopping for a music box for my soon to be born child. At home we found a review of a similar music box from the same manufacturer, which got bad grades for containing aniline in a surface exposed to touch (toxic, absorbed through the skin).
I am also reading "ecological intelligence" (by the "emotional intelligence" guy), going on about similar topics.
In general, it seems very hard to find anything that is not polluted. I would be curious how smart people from HN think about this problem.
Is it maybe just overblown hysteria by some "treehuggers"? Perhaps a little toxin here and there won't kill you, not even if you are a toddler. Somehow most of us grew up mostly OK, and chances are 20 or 30 years ago the situation was even worse. There were probably even less "watchdog companies" around to at least curb the problem a little bit.
On the other hand, a lot of it seems just superfluous, which makes it extremely annoying to me. It's one thing to add preservatives to colors and food to make them last a little longer, but to add lead to colors to make them seem brighter just seems criminal (apparently a very common problem). It makes me want to avoid those products out of principle, no matter how severe the real danger.
The whole consumer experience is also extremely sub par. Apparently the companies mentioned in "ecological intelligence" (like goodguide.com) are at least working on an API and iPhone apps, but it seems unlikely they would help for my country (Germany). The leader in Germany ("Ökotest") does not seem to be that far yet. I seriously consider doing some work in this space - might be difficult to come by the data, though. I wonder how expensive it is to test a product? GoodGuide does not seem to test that extensively either, they mention some x-ray test that can detect a limited amount of chemicals on the surface. No idea about chemistry, but I imagine perhaps one could vaporize a product and then see what comes up in the spectrometer?
Back when I still read computer magazines, I eventually realized that all the tests just had to find some flaws. Even if a tested PC was really great, then the testers would suddenly start nitpicking about some minor detail. Naturally, all the buyers would run into the shops and nag about that aspect of the product. So I wonder if a lot of the "ecological tests" are a bit the same. If you look long enough, of course you find some flaws.
On the other hand, as a consumer, my trust into the industry has definitely been completely destroyed (they also sell us sweets, coke, garbage products recycled as food and what not and claim it is healthy - no, definitely no trusting there).
I do not "child proof" my house, or screen toys for lead. I have never heard of this toxin you are writing about but I think it all fits into the same category. If you as a parent are actively involved in your child's life, you should never be worried that they are eating the paint off of a toy or drinking the bleach under the sink-- because you are there.
When I had my children, I wasn't ready. I was young and selfish-- I had no time for them. I did not desire to make time for them. My wife, thank the maker, was the exact opposite. She gave up everything to be mommy and eventually I came around. I discovered that my children are not a burden, and I have found less and less time for the things I used to enjoy because I now enjoy my children.
Because my wife and I are always with our girls, we can proactively coach them away from eating things they are not supposed to or chewing on things that could be harmful. It is like you said, things were likely a lot worse when we were kids. Lead was everywhere. I have been a fisherman since i was born and I cannot tell you how many sinkers I have swallowed-- maybe some day this will have profound effects on me, but not yet.