Target, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announce recall of 139,000 Chinese-made children's suitcases because of excessive lead paint levels

Cindy Allen

WASHINGTON , December 23, 2011 (Associated Press) – Target Corp. and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on Thursday announced a recall of some children's suitcases because they violate federal lead paint standards.

About 139,000 of the Circo 17-inch suitcases, which were manufactured in China, were sold exclusively at Target stores between April and August for about $21.

The CPSC said the suitcase's surface coating contains "excessive levels" of lead that violate the government's lead paint standard. No injuries have been reported.

Exposure to lead can cause irreversible brain damage, learning disabilities and other problems such as aggressive behavior in children.

The girls' version has a pattern of hearts, butterflies and daisies on either a pink or teal background with a plush butterfly attached to the zipper pull. The boys' version has three jet planes in red, blue or green on a red or blue airplane-patterned background, with a blue plush jet plane attached to the zipper pull.

In both the girls' and boys' versions, the Circo brand label is on the fabric handle attached to the top of the suitcase.

The UPC codes for the suitcases are 618842135844 and 618842135868, with date codes of 01/11 through 08/11.

The date codes can be found on either the round Circo hang tag underneath the UPC bar code or on the white tag sewn inside the cover of the zippered main compartment of the travel case.

The CPSC said consumers should stop using the suitcases immediately and return them to any Target store for a refund.

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