Plasticisers in toys
Plasticisers in toys - Vinyl Council Australia
| To make PVC flexible - for example, for use in soft toys - plasticisers are added. A number of different products are used as plasticisers including categories of chemicals known as phthalates (or phthalate esters), citrates and adipates. The total amount of phthalate contained in a toy product varies from 20 to 50 per cent depending on the degree of softness required. Phthalates are no longer manufactured in Australia. The most commonly used phthalate in toys sold in Australia is DINP (diisononyl phthalate). DINP has been used for decades in a wide range of products. Phthalate plasticisers have been used worldwide for over forty years and have been one of the most studied compounds from a health and environmental perspective. The fact that small amounts of phthalate softeners can migrate from vinyl under certain conditions is well known and has been documented by the scientific community for decades. Recently, nevertheless, questions have been raised about the use of phthalates in PVC toys designed to be put in the mouth by very young children. To address consumer concerns on this issue, the Vinyl Council of Australia and the Australian Toy Association, in 1998, recommended that Australian manufacturers and suppliers consider avoiding the use of phthalates in toys which may be taken into the mouths of infants under 3 years of age, until more scientific work is completed. |
| DINP poses no risk |
| In April 2006, an EU risk assessment confirmed that DINP would not be classified as hazardous and poses no risk to either human health or the environment from its current uses, including toys. This determination was after a 10 year process of extensive scientific evaluation by regulators including extensive risk assessments A report summary can be found at: http://www.dinp-facts.com/upload/documents/webpage/document2.pdf |
