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Hi, all. My husband does some consulting for the Toy Industry Association and came across this article in an industry publication. The European Commission has banned six phthalates from toys and the US Toy Industry Association is not going to "roll over and take this lying down," an obstinate and short-sighted approach that squanders their opportunity to be the heroes who step out in front to produce toys that are healthy and safe for children. The toy industry is a very old industry entrenched in its ways. Linda Smith Community Outreach Manager Eco-Cycle 303.444.6634 Chemical wonders By Muriel Cozier, Colleen Bohen, Tom Sosnowski Playthings -- 8/1/2005 Banning phthalates affects children's biz globally The European Commission last month voted in favor of a permanent ban on the use of six phthalates in toys and childcare articles. Three phthalates-DEHP, DBP and BBP-are totally banned where their concentration exceeds 0.1 percent by mass of plasticized material. Three other phthalates-DINP, DNOP and DIDP-are banned for the same concentrations in toys and childcare articles that children could put in their mouths, whether or not they are intended for this use. The ban applies irrespective of the age categories. The European Parliament is also calling on the commission to look at other types of material containing these phthalates, especially in the area of healthcare. Expressing its disappointment, the European plasticizers industry said that is was concerned by the decision to ban the phthalates, saying that such stringent measures were unnecessary and ignored scientific risk assessments. Director of the European Council for Plasticers and Intermediates (ECPI), David Cadogan said "Banning a substance (DINP), which has been scientifically risk-assessed as safe, thereby forcing manufacturers to use alternatives about which far less is known, does nothing to protect the health of children." ECPI added that only one of the six phthalates, DINP, is generally used in toys, and that industry had spent more than $157 million researching the health and environmental effects of phthalates. The vote has been welcomed by Greenpeace, which campaigned for a total ban on the use of phthalates in toys. "It is difficult to understand how the European Parliament could take this action. We hope that European-member governments do not ratify the measure," Tom Conley, TIA president, tells Playthings. "This action flies in the face of sound scientific evidence provided by researchers both in Europe and in the USA that these products are safe for use in children's products," he says. "In fact, both the European Chemicals Bureau (ECB), an arm of the European Commission, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, separately reviewing research, concluded that DINP is safe for use in its current applications in toys and childcare items," he says. "We aren't going to roll over and take this lying down," he continues. "While we don't hold out a lot of hope, we hope some of the world's scientists weigh-in with their findings and appeal to the European Commission to take a good look at them." According to the TIA's Web site, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission ruled in 2003 to deny a 1998 petition by environmental groups to ban PVC using DINP in toys intended for children under five years of age-a decision supported by the TIA. Malcolm Denniss, Hasbro senior vice president of corporate quality assurance, notes that "there is something in Europe called the 'precautionary principle,' where if there is reasonable doubt about the safety of a product, is intended to require more research and data be gathered on the product. Obviously that has turned out to mean if there is any doubt whatsoever, you can't use it. "To the best of my knowledge there is no reliable data supporting claims that Greenpeace makes regarding safety, particularly that of DINP." The following is a timeline tracing the assault on the use of phthalates: September 1997-A Greenpeace study claims that phthalates were identified in a number of PVC toys, and often comprised 10 to 40 percent of the toy's weight. A number of phthalates were identified, but DINP was found predominantly. The study raised concerns that DINP could leach out of toys that were chewed by children. Greenpeace claimed that when DINP was purchased for laboratory use, it was labeled with a number of hazards, including "possible risk of irreversible effects." February 1998-The European Union decides to appoint a scientific committee to investigate the use of phthalate plasticers in PVC toys. The European toy industry welcomes the move, saying that "five generations of children throughout the world have played with and sucked toys made from pliable vinyl and there is no evidence that they have been adversely affected by it." November 1999-The European Commission decides to ban phthalate plasticers in children's toys for children under the age of three, citing a "serious and immediate health risk." The decision is slammed by the ECPI. December 1999-The ban on the use of six phthalates is finally endorsed by the emergencies committee of the European Commission. The ban was originally set for three months, but was continually endorsed on a rolling basis. January 2001-ExxonMobil and the ECPI complete a five-year study, which, they claimed, showed that DINP and DIDP posed no environmental concern. March 2001-The European Commission extends its temporary rolling ban on phthalates for the fifth time. The Council of ministers is divided as to whether to impose a total ban or wait until an accurate method of testing for the leaching of phthalates in saliva is developed. 2002-The rolling ban is extended. 2004-The ECPI expresses concern that the Commission will ban the use of phthalates in all toys and childcare articles for all ages. June 2005-A study linking human exposure to phthalates and adverse changes in the genitals of baby boys was criticized by industry as scare mongering. July 2005-European Parliament votes to ban use of six phthalates in children's toys. _____ Author Information Muriel Cozier is the environmental editor for European Chemical News, a publication of Reed Elsevier, parent of Reed Business Information, publisher of Playthings. |
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