Recalled Toy Beads, Aqua Dots, Did Contain High Level Of Poisonous Chemical, 'Date Rape' Drug, Study Shows
Reports of children becoming unconscious after swallowing Aqua Dots beads led to a voluntary recall of the product in November 2007. At the time, it was widely reported that the potentially toxic chemical 1,4-butanediol (BD) had been used in place of the benign but more expensive 1,5-pentanediol (PD) in the manufacture of the beads. A new study confirms these reports, finding that Aqua Dots contained no 1,5-PD at all, but had a surprisingly high level – almost 14 percent - of extractable 1,4-BD. According to the study, consumption of several dozen Aqua Dots beads containing these levels of the chemical, a central nervous system depressant commonly known as a “date-rape drug,” would be enough to induce the reported vomiting and self-limited comas experienced by children that ingested the toys.