Local 4's Ruth to the Rescue issued a warning about a water yo-yo ball last summer, but just this week Local 4 discovered the toy for sale at Halloween stores in metro Detroits.

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ARCHIVE: Ruth To The Rescue Uncovers Dangerous Toy

Toys-R-Us, Walgreens and Kmart have voluntarily stopped selling the yo-yo ball, but Local 4's undercover cameras found the toy in Halloween USA stores selling for 50 cents. The toy usually costs about $1. The yo-yos at the Halloween store carried no warning label, according to Local 4l.

Some safety experts believe the small yo-yo can cause big problems, said Local 4's Ruth Spencer.

The toy is made in China and Taiwan and safety experts said it is behind several life-threatening close calls, Local 4 reported.

In New York, at least five children were seriously hurt. In one case, a doctor needed scissors to cut the stretch cord off his daughter's neck, the station reported.

In another case, a 6-year-old boy suffered heart trouble after drinking some of the liquid inside the ball.

Faye Molitor, the mother of two young children, said it is disturbing that a toy at such a low cost could be so dangerous for children.

Local 4 took the water yo-yo ball to Deborah Niedbala, a child safety educator at Children's Hospital. She detected a major problem from the start.

Niedbala said the toy smelled like diesel fuel. Ruth to the Rescue discovered that's because the squishy yo-yos are made of diesel hydrocarbons, an extremely flammable compound.

"There's no guarantee that if you're using this around a campfire, barbecue, or mosquito candles that it wouldn't go up just as it is," Niedbala said.

Local 4 contacted the Detroit Fire Department's training academy to see just how flammable the water yo-yo ball really is.

The ball burned fast, but the rubbery string stayed intact. About a minute later, the water began to bubble out, but that did nothing to stop the flames.

The toy burned for a full five minutes before firefighters extinguished the burning toy.

Amazingly, Ruth to the Rescue checked the toy's packaging and it never mentions the risk.

"If it's made of something that is anything flammable or highly flammable, there should be something on there...a disclaimer or something," said Orlando Gregory of the Detroit Fire Department training academy.

Niedbala agreed the toy's label is lacking.

"The warnings are not large enough, they're not bright enough, people are not going to see them. Nowhere on the packaging does it say it's a flammable hazard, that there's something poisonous on the inside if it gets broken, or that it's a strangulation problem," Niedbala said.

Spencer confronted the Consumer Product Safety Commission to find out why the water yo-yo ball is still being sold in local stores.

Consumer officials in New York and Massachusetts are leading the push for a national recall. The yo-yos are also under investigation in California, Colorado, and Indiana, as well as Canada.

Canadian health officials issued a voluntary recall after several recent close calls.

Ruth to the Rescue talked to the local manager of the Halloween USA store.

"Are you mad the Consumer Product Safety Commission isn't pulling (the toy)?" asked Ruth Spencer.

"Well, I wasn't aware of that as being such an issue as it is. But, yeah, that's horrible. I didn't know something we were selling was harming children," said Adam Brown of Halloween USA.

"Would you ever consider just on your own taking them off the shelves and saying, 'You know what, we're not going to sell these,' " said Spencer.

"That's something I would have to talk to corporate about, but, yeah, I'm not even sure if it's something they are aware of. But it's definitely something I'll bring to their attention," said Brown.

Ruth to the Rescue did talk to Halloween USA's corporate office and they say they were unaware of the yo-yo danger, but will look into the claims immediately.

Local 4 contacted the Consumer Product Safety Commission and told Local 4 they acknowledge there is some risk associated with the yo-yo ball, but not enough to take regulatory action. They urge parents to cut the cord on the toy, if they're worried.

After Ruth to the Rescue shared the results of Local 4's investigation, the CPSC said they will also be looking into the flammability risk.

Additional Information

www.cpsc.gov
Dangers Of Water Yo-Yo Ball