In response to rising health risks associated with water beads, government officials, public health professionals, and concerned parents are intensifying their call for Congress to implement a national ban on these children's toys. Congressman Frank Pallone Jr. of New Jersey announced in a news conference on Monday that he will introduce a bill at the House of Representatives this week, aiming to prohibit the marketing of beads to kids.

Highlighting the dangers posed by water beads, Pallone stressed that even a single small package can hold as many as 75,000 beads, and it only takes one to cause harm to a child. The absence of adequate labeling and warnings, coupled with their widespread availability, further support the need for a ban, according to Pallone.

Water beads are made from an extremely absorbent polymer material that can expand to 100 times their original size and weight when exposed to liquid, as reported by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Marketed as toys for countin