Marvel Entertainment Group halted shipments of its Chinese-made Curious George toys Wednesday after an advocacy group reported finding potentially dangerous levels of lead on a product.

Advocacy group Center for Environmental Health informed Marvel Entertainment Group that it had found 10 times the legally allowed level of lead in a Curious George doll, reports Reuters, which has led to the company halting shipments from China.

Marvel has said that its products are being tested by an independent laboratory and that, if the environmental group’s findings are confirmed, it will order a recall.

Company spokesman David Collins said, “If we find a problem, we will do a recall, it’s the only appropriate thing to do.” In the meantime, the company has taken precautionary measures.

“We have already reached out to the Center for Environmental Health for their help in identifying the product they tested and the full details of their testing,” Marvel said, as quoted by Reuters.

“In the meantime, we have halted all shipments of our Curious George product line and are pulling various samples from the factory for rush lead testing.”

The toy line is based on the 2006 animated movie “Curious George.”

The Center for Environmental Health filed legal notices Wednesday in California against Marvel under an environmental law called Proposition 65. Another legal notice was filed against Sassafras Enterprises of Chicago, whose vinyl lunchboxes and backpacks allegedly contain high levels of lead.

“The fact that our group is still finding lead-tainted toys and lunchboxes after the recent spate of recalls demonstrates that the government is not protecting American children from these unnecessary lead threats,” Michael Green, Executive Director of CEH, says in a message posted on the group’s website.

“The Consumer Product Safety Commission waits until lead-tainted products are in our children's hands. We need a better approach that requires companies to demonstrate that children's products are safe before they are allowed on store shelves.”

The Center for Environmental Health has been instrumental in the recalling of vinyl bibs at Wal-Mart and Toys ‘R’ Us stores in California, as they contained unsafe levels of lead. The health group has been adamant in the recalling of various toys, lunch boxes and children’s jewelry from stores, on the grounds that they are dangerously contaminated with lead.

Exposure to lead has been shown to cause cancer and birth defects. It also can cause learning disabilities in children.

Among the symptoms of lead poisoning are headaches, irritability, nausea and insomnia. If a parent is concerned the child may be contaminated, it is best to consult a doctor.