Watchdog group blasts US phthalates in toys

19 March 2008 20:10  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--A US consumer advocacy group on Wednesday released a study on threats posed by phthalates in common plastic toys, calling for changes in policy to limit the use of the plasticizer.

The Washington Toxics Coalition study said 20 toys commonly available at major US retailers showed high levels of phthalates, which give plastic products special characteristics such as malleability.

The non-government study recommended that the state of Washington should ban phthalates from toys and children’s products.

The group also called for tougher consumer labeling standards and more research by state environmental officials into the long-term health effects from exposure to phthalates.

“These results show the urgency of passing legislation this year to reduce the threat to our health from common everyday products,” said Illinois State Representative Naomi Jakobsson, who was responsible for similar legislative proposals in her own state.

Jakobsson's pending Child-Safe Chemicals Act (HB 5707) seeks to ban lead, cadmium, bisphenol-A and phthalates from toys, and start the process of identifying other potential hazards.

“If children can be exposed to toxic chemicals leaching from toys, it’s a clear sign that something is wrong with current chemical policies,” Jakobsson said.

The new study follows widespread public interest in the US over the past 12 months over the health risks posed by chemicals in children’s products.

US chemical industry officials have charged that such ban proposals are the result of fear politics rather than sound science.

The US Senate is considering a bill, S-2663, to expand the authority and budget for the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to ensure that end-user products, especially children’s toys and feeding devices, are free of health risks.

A proposed amendment to the bill would would institute a nationwide ban on the use of phthalates as softeners and other additives to plastic products that would be used by children in play or feeding.

That amendment would replicate a California state law  for products with di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), diisononyl phthalate (DINP), diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP) or di-n-octyl phthalate (DnOP).

By: John Waggoner
+1 713 525 2653

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