A Massachusetts importer has been fined $200,000 for violating the federal lead paint ban with pails and tops imported from China, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced today. The playthings were emblazoned with Thomas and Friends, Curious George and Winnie the Pooh graphics and have since been recalled. (Read the settlement.)

Specifically the company, Schylling Associates, was charged with:

• Importing 66,000 units of non-compliant spinning top toys with Thomas and Friends, Curious George and Circus graphics between June 2001 and June 2002, and distributing them to its retail business customers for sale to consumers.
• Importing 10,200 units of non-compliant tin pail toys with Thomas and Friends, Curious George and Primary Colors graphics from late January 2002 through March 2002, and distributing about 4,700 of them to its retail customers for sale to consumers.
• Importing as many as 3,600 units of non-compliant Winnie-the-Pooh style spinning top toys between April and May 2003, and distributing them to its retail customers for sale to consumers.

Although it eventually reported these toys to the CPSC in 2007, Schylling knew or should have known by 2002 that most of the toys did not comply with the lead paint ban, and failed to report this information to the government in a timely manner, the complaint said.

The toys were recalled in August 2007 and November 2007.

“Manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers have a legal obligation to ensure that no banned products are introduced into or distributed in the U.S. marketplace, and to inform CPSC as soon as they become aware of information that must be reported under our laws. We will continue to penalize companies that do not follow these basic requirements,” said CPSC Chairman, Inez Tenenbaum.