Two of the largest U.S. toy companies, Toys "R" Us Inc. and Mattel Inc., said they will phase out nickel-cadmium batteries, a technology associated with widespread environmental contamination and health problems in China.

The move comes as toy makers are scrambling to rid their products of toxins, after a wave of recalls last year triggered panic about the safety of Chinese-made toys. The bans on cadmium batteries are a sign that the toy industry's safety concerns are beginning to extend to workers and citizens in China, where the vast majority of the world's toys are made.

Cadmium batteries, which are commonly found in remote control toys, pose no health risks to American children. But the batteries have been a target of environmentalists and workers rights groups, because they contain cadmium, a toxic heavy metal that can cause kidney failure, lung cancer and bone disease.

Hundreds of factory workers in China have been exposed to unsafe levels of cadmium, and runoff from China's cadmium battery factories has polluted the soil and water. The health and environmental consequences of nickel-cadmium batteries were the subject of a page-one story in The Wall Street Journal last month.

The Toys "R" Us announcement is part of a wave of new safety initiatives the company is taking as it aims to reassure parents about the safety of its products. In addition to the battery phase-out, the company announced stricter rules on lead content in toy surface coatings and tighter rules on phthalates, a vinyl additive that has been linked to cancer in rats.

U.S. toymakers and retailers are racing to get ahead of proposed legislation that could tighten toy-industry regulation after last year's recalls. The legislation includes a potential overhaul of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission that would strengthen its enforcement authority.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. also announced stricter guidelines on lead content and phthalates in toys last week, and companies are exploring alternatives to polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, a type of vinyl that consumer advocates say contains dangerous chemicals.

There are cleaner alternatives to nickel-cadmium batteries--commonly found in remote-control cars, power tools and cordless phones--including nickel-metal hydride batteries. But nickel-cadmium batteries are still used in the U.S. because they are the cheapest ones available, knocking about $1.50 off the price of an average toy. The batteries account for about 3% of world-wide battery sales

Mattel said over the weekend that it is no longer using nickel-cadmium batteries in its new products, and consumers will see the change when the company's fall products are released. Toys "R" Us announced last week that it would prohibit the use of cadmium batteries in all toys made exclusively for Toys "R" Us, and would complete the phase-out by the end of this year. The company didn't say it would ban toys made by other companies that use the batteries. Other toymakers, including Hasbro Inc., have already launched their own bans on cadmium batteries.

Last month, the Journal profiled Wang Fengping, a 45-year-old Chinese engineer who is suffering from severe kidney failure after working for years in a factory that produced nickel-cadmium batteries for companies including Toys "R" Us, Mattel and Wal-Mart.

The company at which she works, GP Batteries International Ltd., a Singapore-listed unit of Hong Kong-listed Gold Peak Industries (Holdings) Ltd., ceased production of nickel-cadmium batteries in 2004, when hundreds of workers were found with unsafe levels of cadmium in their bodies. – The Wall Street Journal