BETHESDA, Maryland (CNN) -- Toymaker Mattel is voluntarily recalling 9 million of its toys in the United States including popular characters such as Batman, Barbie, Polly Pockets and a toy from Pixar's "Cars" movie because of hazards to children, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Tuesday.

"The company has ordered that all products be pulled off retail shelves," said Nancy Nord, acting chairman of the commission.

Mattel is recalling 18.2 million magnetic toys globally and the majority of the toys are no longer available in stores.

Some of the recalled toys have magnets that can become dislodged and swallowed, and at least one has hazardous levels of lead in its paint.

"There is absolutely no excuse for lead to be found in toys entering this country. It is totally unacceptable, and it has to stop," Nord told reporters.

Mattel Chairman Bob Eckert told CNN that his company has rigorous testing procedures in place and that it is reviewing its testing plans.

"Nobody likes recalls, and I apologize for the situation we're all facing," Eckert said.

"I'm disappointed, I'm upset, but I can assure your viewers that we're doing everything we can about the situation," he added. Watch Mattel CEO explain what the company's doing about the problem »

Most of the recall -- 7 million toys -- involves Polly Pocket dolls and accessories, which contain small magnets, Nord said. These toys were produced between May 2003 to November 2006. None manufactured after November 1, 2006, are affected.

Also in the recall issued by the world's largest toy company are 1 million Doggie Daycare sets; 680,000 Barbie and Tanner play sets; and almost 350,000 Batman and One Piece magnetic action figures.

Nord said that if more than one magnet is swallowed they could cause potentially fatal intestinal perforations or blockages.

The recalled Polly Pocket play sets have magnets measuring 1/8 of an inch embedded in the hands and feet of some dolls and in the clothing, hair pieces and other accessories to attach the pieces to the doll or the doll's house, Mattel said. Some 7.3 million sets were sold at toy stores, and 2.4 million of those were recalled in November, the company said.

There have been additional reports of magnets coming loose since then, including three reports of injuries, Nord said.

The potentially dangerous magnets in the Barbie sets are located inside the scooper accessory, the CPSC and Mattel said.

Eckert said Mattel has changed the way it attached magnets to its toys to make them safer.

"We're concerned, however, about toys that were made prior to these standards so we're retroactively going for the five years these magnets have been used, and we want to notify consumers that if they have any of those toys, the magnets can dislodge and we want those toys back," he said.

Mattel also recalled about 253,000 "Sarge" die cast toys from the Pixar "Cars" movie because of hazardous lead paint.

The recalled Sarge Cars were sold individually and in assortment packs in retail stores nationwide from May 2007 to August 2007. The Sarge character is a small die cast car measuring about 3 inches in length.

The car is an Army green color and features a white star on the hood. Surface paint on affected products contains lead in excess of permissible levels.

For Mattel, the parent company of Fisher-Price, it is the second toy recall in two weeks.

Its Fisher-Price preschool division recalled 1.5 million toys that were made in China, over worries that their paint may contain too much lead.

The toys included likenesses of Big Bird and Elmo, as well as the Dora and Diego characters.

"Lead is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health effects," according to the CPSC. Lead paint can cause vomiting, anemia and even neurological damage.

Chinese officials temporarily banned Lee Der, the company that made the Fisher-Price lead-tainted toys, from exporting products. The Southern Metropolis Daily, citing unidentified Lee Der workers, said the recall cost the company $30 million.

The manager of the Lee Der factory committed suicide over the weekend, government officials said. Zhang Shuhong hanged himself in a warehouse in the city of Foshan, said an official with the Guangdong Public Security Department.

The recall was among the largest in recent months involving Chinese products, which have come under scrutiny worldwide for containing potentially dangerous high levels of chemicals and toxins.

A Chinese quality inspection agency also announced a temporary export ban on Hansheng Wood Products Factory and said police were investigating the use of "fake plastic pigment." Such pigments are a type of industrial latex used to make surfaces smoother and shinier.

Hansheng made wooden railroad toys that a New York company, RC2 Corp., sold under the Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway product line. RC2 had to recall 1.5 million of the toys earlier this year because of lead paint.

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