NEW YORK, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Mattel Inc. said on Thursday that it expected to take a charge of $30 million for the recall of more than 1 million Chinese-made toys, including those with popular preschool characters like Elmo, Big Bird and Dora the Explorer.

The estimate comes the day after Mattel recalled 1.5 million toys made by a contract manufacturer in China for the company's Fisher-Price unit.

The manufacturer used nonapproved paint that may contain too much lead, which has been linked to many children's health problems, including brain damage.

Representatives from Mattel, the No. 1 toy company, were not immediately available for further comment.

Of the 1 million products recalled from the U.S. market, Mattel said about 30 percent had reached store shelves.

Independent toy industry consultant Christopher Byrne said the impact to Mattel financially as well as in the court of public opinion should be negligible.

"Mattel's systems are so strong that they were able to contain two-thirds of the product from ever getting into the marketplace," Byrne said. "That's good news and should make people very confident about Mattel."

Mattel's shares were down 14 cents at $23.44 in morning New York Stock Exchange trading. The stock has traded within a 52-week range of $17.54 to $29.71.

Mattel said in a Thursday filing with the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission that it would adjust its second-quarter results to reflect the $30 million charge. Revenue for the period was $1.02 billion, with $410.4 million coming from Fisher-Price.

Mattel said it was reviewing procedures involving all of its Chinese-made products and that additional issues could surface in the future.

The recalled toys were manufactured between April 19 and July 6 and sold at stores across the United States between May and Aug. 1, the company said.

Mattel is also expanding its testing programs to ensure that painted toys from third-party manufacturers are safe before they are sent to customers.

WIDE SWATH

The company is asking U.S. stores and consumers to return 967,000 plastic toys and is recalling another 533,000 from other countries -- including Britain, Canada and Mexico.

The recall is Mattel's largest since one of about 10 million Power Wheels vehicles in 1998 that stemmed from reports that the ride-on cars and trucks could overheat and cause fires while being ridden.

In June, RC2 Corp. recalled wooden Thomas & Friends toy trains, which were made in China and sold in the United States, because some of them contained lead paint.

"You've now had two companies say they've had problems with lead, and Mattel is so scrupulous about this -- if it can happen to Mattel, it can happen to anybody," Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Sean McGowan said.

There has been heightened concern worldwide about the safety of goods imported from China, and the United States has stepped up its inspection of Chinese goods after a chemical additive in pet food caused the death of some animals.

But unless Mattel finds a larger problem with its testing methods, McGowan said he didn't see any long-term impact on the company.

"Nobody has died and nobody has gotten injured," he said. "The reason we worry about lead and paint is because kids might chew it. Some of these products aren't even meant to be played with that way."