Seattle: The Governor of Washington State, Christine Gregoire, on Tuesday, signed the bill placing the strict restrictions on the amount of lead in children's products or toys into law, which reduces the allowable level of lead in toys to 90 parts per million, far below the federal standard of 600 parts per million.

Officially known as the “Children's Safe Product Act,” the new law strictly limits the use of cadmium, a metal used in paints and plastics and phthalates, which are used to manufacture children’s products and toys.

According to the official reports, the new law addressing the use of lead, cadmium, phthalates and other materials, could affect items as varied as crib mobiles, toy robots and child safety seats, and it would go further than a law enacted last year in California addressing phthalates, chemicals that help make plastics malleable.

Under the new law, the manufacturers of children’s products/toys will now be required to notify government regulators in the state if their toys contain chemicals "of high concern," which is expected to be a list of about 50 substances that the state Department of Ecology will draw up over the next year.

Lead paint is toxic and can pose serious health risks, including brain damage in children. Millions of toys were recalled around the world last year due to excessive levels of lead paint.

Ivy Sager-Rosenthal, an environmental health advocate for the Washington Toxics Coalition, said, “We’re willing to let that go, given that the lead standards would still apply to a huge number of toys.” According to Ms. Sager-Rosenthal estimation, up to 20 percent of the toys sold in the state could be banned under the new law. That’s what is making the toy makers oppose the law.