A China syndrome: Tainted goods, lack of inspections, and now `slave labor'.

The following editorial appeared in the Charlotte Observer on Monday, June 25:

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That list of reasons to worry about Chinese imports is getting longer.

Consider the June 13 recall of 1.5 million Thomas & Friends toy train parts, after lead paint was found to have been used on them at the Chinese factory where they're made. Ingesting lead can cause long-term neurological problems.

Apparently the lead paint was used for up to two years before it was discovered. Or at least, before it was discovered by anyone who cared to put a stop to it.

Why would any company choose to have toys made at a factory that didn't monitor for lead paint? The RC2 Corp., which markets the trains, hasn't said much, but typically companies' answer is this: Americans want low prices. Things made in China are cheaper. Workers earn a fraction of U.S. pay. And, one surmises, those annoying government regulations are not nearly so annoying in China.

The unsafe toy trains are just another item on a growing list of concerns about Chinese manufacturing. This spring pet food containing a Chinese-made ingredient tainted with an industrial plastic killed dogs and cats in the U.S. The bad pet food then got into the human food chain after it was fed to chickens, hogs and fish.