Just in Time for The Super Bowl Part II: Customs Seizes 17,592 Lead-Contaminated NFL Toys From Seattle Docks
You know Cleatus, right? Fox NFL mascot. Lightning rod. De facto member of the network's Sunday morning pregame show who, though silent and generated by computer animation, somehow comes off as a more knowledgeable football commentator than Michael Strahan. Of course you do. 
A batch of NFL toys are proven a health hazard. Tests on Terry Bradshaw remain inconclusive.
But did you also know that some years ago, the NFL and Fox made his likeness into an action figure, in hope that your football-loving tot would nag you into dropping upwards of $20 for its purchase? If so, the more reluctant among you now have an legitimate excuse for disappointing the lil' tyke.
Back on January 21, Customs authorities seized two shipping containers filled with 17,592 Chinese-manufactured Cleatus action figures. After testing a few samples, investigators with Customs' Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) found that they contained 1,800 parts per million (ppm) of lead.
According to the CPSC, the accepted level of lead contamination is just 300 ppm, meaning the seized shipment has lead levels six times the allowed limit. Asked for specifics on how much contaminated merchandise has been seized here in Seattle, U.S. Customs spokesperson Doug McBride can't say. But in 2009, Customs agents seized an estimated $1 million in lead-contaminated merchandise from U.S. ports.
McBride doesn't know what the ultimate fate of the figurines will be. But whatever the case, the shipment's owners are likely out its market value, an estimated $96,000.
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