Another Reason Why Water Bead Toys Are Dangerous — Toxic Chemical Hazard

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is warning parents about two brands of water bead toys that contain high levels of a toxic chemical. The two new warnings add to mounting concerns over water beads, which look fun and harmless, but are sending thousands of children to hospital emergency departments with serious and life-threatening injuries caused by ingestion.

On March 19, 2024, the CPSC urged parents to immediately throw away Jangostor and Tuladuo water beads, stating that they contain “levels of acrylamide in violation of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act.” Acrylamide is a carcinogen linked with cancer. It impacts the nervous and reproductive systems and can cause “muscle weakness, numbness in hands and feet, sweating, unsteadiness, and clumsiness,” according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

The warnings, which were issued separately, come three months after a mechanical engineer at the CPSC wrote a letter to voluntary safety-standards-setting organization ASTM International advising that the CPSC had tested 14 water bead products for acrylamide under conditions that simulated human ingestion and that two of the products released acrylamide at “concerning levels.” While the letter does not identify any of the tested products, it could be inferred that the two toxic products apparently are the Jangostor and Tuladuo water beads.

The Jangostor Large Water Beads were sold on Amazon from March 2017 through November 2023 for about $10, according to the CPSC. They were packaged in two sizes: an 11 ounce bottle, and a 3.5 ounce bag. The water beads are partially hydrated and were sold in eight colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink and clear. The front of the packaging is yellow with “Jangostor” and “Large water beads” printed on the top left. The estimated number of pieces is printed on the left side in a red box. “Just add water” and “BOUNCY, Squishy, & Beautiful” are printed in a green box. “Made is China” is printed on a white sticker on the back of the container and the bag.

The Tuladuo Water Beads warning concerns two sets. One set consists of a plastic container with 50,000 small water beads, 50 large water beads in a plastic bag, one plastic scooper spoon, two plastic funnels, four plastic spatulas, one mesh bag and five beige balloons. Some of these sets came in a blue cardboard box with “Tuladuo” on the front panel in red. The other Tuladuo set consists of 50,000 small water beads, 50 large water beads in a plastic bag, 12 ocean animal toys, eight cups, a funnel, seven tools/tweezers, 10 balloons and an inflatable mat in a clear plastic bin.

The large Tuladuo water beads were sold in nine colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, pink, purple, white and clear. The small Tuladuo water beads were sold in seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, black and clear.

Both Tuladuo sets were sold on Amazon from March 2021 through November 2023 for between $10 and $20 by Tuladuo US and Dohuan US.

What Are Water Beads? And Why Are They Dangerous When Swallowed?

Water beads are made of super-absorbent polymer crystals which retain hundreds of times their weight in water. The beads start small (often the size of a sprinkle) and can increase their size by 150-1500 times after soaking in water. The beads are bright and colorful and have a candy-like appearance.

Manufacturers market water beads as a squishy toy that promotes sensory and fine motor skills, color recognition, counting skills, hand-eye coordination and patience (as it takes time for them to expand). They are sold in sets that can include thousands, sometimes tens of thousands, of beads and are often found in children’s activity kits. Besides being used as toys, water beads have other uses by which they may get into the hands and mouths of children. Most notably, they are often used as vase fillers for flowers and floating candles and can be added to (or replace) the soil for indoor houseplants.

Because water beads are so small, it is easy for even the most safety-conscious parents to lose track of them. The beads, especially when dry, will bounce, roll and scatter, and inevitably get stuck in carpeting, furniture, toys, etc., where young children may eventually find them and put them in their mouths.

Setting aside concerns about toxic chemicals, water beads, if swallowed, are extremely dangerous because they do not simply get digested and pass through a child’s body. Instead, they absorb fluids and expand, and can cause life-threatening intestinal and bowel obstructions and other serious injuries. Water beads also expand when placed by curious children in their nose or ears and can cause naval cavity injuries and hearing loss.

The CPSC reports that nearly 7,000 water bead-related ingestion injuries were treated in emergency departments in the U.S. from 2018 through 2022. One of those injuries was to 10-month-old Esther Bethard, who died after ingesting a single water bead from a Chuckle & Roar Ultimate Water Beads Activity Kit purchased for an older sibling. Esther’s death prompted the manufacturer, Buffalo Games, to recall the kits. Eighteen months before Esther’s death, Buffalo Games had received a report that a 9-month-old child was seriously injured from swallowing Chuckle & Roar water beads, which caused an intestinal obstruction requiring surgery to remove them.

Feldman Shepherd product liability attorneys Alan M. Feldman, Daniel J. Mann and Edward S. Goldis represent Esther’s family in a wrongful death product liability lawsuit.

Do Other Water Bead Toys Besides Jangostor and Tuladuo Contain Toxic Chemicals?

While the CPSC is presently only warning about the toxicity of Jangostor and Tuladuo water beads, Consumer Reports reported in December 2023 that it tested several brands of water beads for known toxins, including lead, chemicals called phthalates, and bisphenol A (BPA). While the testing did not detect any phthalates or heavy metals, it did find BPA in six brands. BPA is an endocrine-disrupting chemical that has been linked to certain cancers and fertility issues. Consumer Reports did not identify the affected brands in its reporting. However, shortly after the CPSC warned about the Jangostor water beads, Consumer Reports reported that Jangostor was one of the brands in which it detected BPA.

As water beads are typically labeled by manufacturers as “non-toxic,” the results of both the CPSC and Consumer Reports testing invite the issue of whether stricter regulatory enforcement is needed to prevent companies from labeling their products “non-toxic” without competent and reliable scientific evidence to back up their claims.

If Water Beads Are Dangerous, Why Are They Still on the Market?

Pursuant to federal law, the CPSC cannot unilaterally recall unsafe products without a company’s cooperation. If a company refuses to cooperate, the CPSC must engage in protracted litigation or administrative proceedings to force a recall. Unfortunately, due to legal restrictions on what information the CPSC can publicly share without a product manufacturer’s permission, the status of the CPSC’s efforts to get water bead toy manufacturers to recall their products is unknown. The warnings that the CPSC issued for the Jangostor and Tuladuo water beads both state that the companies refused to agree to an “acceptable recall.”

The good news is that a number of retailers including Amazon, Target, Walmart and Michaels stopped selling water beads marketed to children as horrific stories from parents whose kids ingested the beads gained attention online and in the media. Also, in November 2023, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone introduced the “Ban Water Beads Act,” which would direct the CPSC to enforce a ban on all water beads marketed for use by kids. The bill is presently pending before a subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

While these efforts by retailers and lawmakers are commendable, clearly more work needs to be done to raise awareness about the serious dangers that water beads pose to young children. Online product reviews from retail sites that no longer sell water beads marketed to kids show that parents, caregivers and even educators continue to regard the beads as fun and harmless, and that they continue to purchase them for children even when they are not labeled as a toy.

For example, below are several reviews on Amazon for a water bead product that is described for use as “Vase Filler, Plant, Floating Candles, Wedding and Home Decoration.” The reviews were written after Amazon stopped selling water beads marketed to children.

“I know these are being marketed primarily for use as decoration, but they have so many other uses as well. I have bought them before to use a sensory toy/therapy experience for my autistic son, as he didn’t get along with specific textures (think labels/tags in shirts) and we wanted him to try new textures like this and jello.”

“We’ve bought a few variations over the years and the kids always have fun with these. … We love these in the summer for playing on the trampoline, in a little kiddie pool, just in a bowl or bin, or even as a fun vase filler. Amazing how much the tiny beads grow and swell into fun balls!”

“I like to use these for a sensory experience for my autistic son. He loves putting his hands in them and playing with them.”

“I use these for sensory table play. You get SO MANY for the price! It’s absolutely crazy! My students love them!”

What Should I Do If My Child Has Been Injured from Swallowing Water Beads?

The product liability team at Feldman Shepherd recommends contacting a product liability attorney as soon as possible if your child has been injured from swallowing water beads.

Daniel J. Mann, a shareholder at Feldman Shepherd, observed that product liability law requires that all products be safe for their intended as well as expected use. Regarding water beads, Mann said, “these products can cause devastating injuries, and should never be sold as a children’s toy. Manufacturers and retailers are well aware of the hazards of water beads and should know better than to market them to children and parents.”

Mann, together with co-founding shareholder Alan M. Feldman and partner Edward S. Goldis, has secured substantial recoveries on behalf of infants and young children who have been seriously injured or killed by children’s products, including baby slings, sleeping products, unstable furniture and magnetic toys.