The Senate approved a bill yesterday which will put the important job of testing the safety of toys in the hands of the same labs who already work for retaliers, manufacturers and importers.
Some critics worry the thoroughness of testing can be compromised because labs are dependent on retailers and manufacturers for business. John W. de Gravelles, a Baton Rouge, La., attorney who represents consumers injured by faulty products, cites what he calls a "cozy arrangement" between Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and its primary testing lab, Consumer Testing Laboratories Inc. "How rigorous the testing is, I'm sure, is less determined by CTL than it is Wal-Mart," he said.