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►TOYS
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Ban on Phthalates in Toys –
Assembly Bill 1108 (Chapter 672,
Statutes of 2007) prohibits the manufacture, sale or distribution of toys or
childcare products designed for babies and children under three years of age
containing certain phthalates beginning January 1, 2009 and requires
manufacturers to use the least toxic alternative when replacing phthalates in
their products.
Toy is defined as any products designed or intended by the manufacturer to be used by
children when they play and child care article means all products designed or intended by the manufacturer to facilitate
sleep, relaxation, or the feeding of children, or to help children with sucking
or teething?
Specifically, commencing
What are Phthalates?
Phthalates are a family of chemical compounds that come in the form of
oily, colorless liquids. There are dozens of types of phthalates; the
How are they used?
Phthalates have been used for about 50 years to make hard plastics softer
and more flexible in such products as vinyl flooring and seat coverings,
raincoats, shower curtains, garden hoses and even sex toys. They're also found
in children's products such as teething rings and bibs as well as in bath,
beach and pool toys.
In hospitals, phthalates can be found in intravenous medical tubing,
examination gloves, catheters and blood storage bags. They are also used in
nail polish to prevent chipping and in perfumes to help the fragrance last
longer.
Phthalates are so ubiquitous that studies have found them in almost everyone
tested.
What does the new law do?
It bans the sale, manufacturing or distribution of any toy or child-care
product that contains more than 0.1% of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP),
benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP). DBP is used in nail
polish and paint as well as toys.
The law similarly bans any toy or child-care item intended for use by a child
younger than 3 if that product can be placed in the child's mouth and contains
more than 0.1% of diisononyl phthalate (DINP), diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP), or
di-n-octyl phthalate (DnOP). DINP is the phthalate most commonly found in toys.
When does the law go into effect?
Why are they being banned?
Advocates of the ban -- including environmentalists, Planned Parenthood and
breast cancer awareness groups -- point to studies that have linked phthalates
to reproductive problems, early onset of puberty, testicular cancer and liver
and thyroid damage. Other research suggests phthalates may contribute to asthma
and decreased lung function in men.
"When a child puts a
phthalate-laden teether in her mouth, it's like sucking on a toxic
lollipop," said Rachel Gibson, attorney for Environment
Many phthalates are already banned in certain products
in the European Union, 14 more countries and in
What do opponents say?
Trade groups such as the American Council on Chemistry and the Toy Industry
Assn. say phthalates are harmless to humans and point to government reports to
back up that view.
In 2003, for example, the Consumer Product Safety Commission concluded that the
use of DINP in toys and other products for children presented "no
demonstrated health risk."
Although studies have found phthalates to be toxic to laboratory animals, fewer
studies on humans have been done. Opponents of the ban argue that the amount of
phthalates given to test rats would be an unrealistically high amount if
applied to humans.
What does the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention say?
"The health effects of phthalates in people are not yet fully known. .
. . More research is needed."
What will manufacturers do now?
It would be impractical for toy makers to market one product line for
Still, the new law forbids manufacturers from replacing phthalates with any
known or likely carcinogen or "reproductive toxicant."
Plasticizers for Plastics
Plasticizers for plastics are additive, most
commonly phthalates,
that give hard plastics
like PVC the desired flexibility and durability.
They are often based on esters of polycarboxylic acids with linear or branched
aliphatic alcohols of moderate chain length. Plasticizers work by embedding
themselves between the chains of polymers, spacing them apart (increasing of the "free
volume"), and thus significantly lowering the glass
transition temperature for the plastic and making it softer. For
plastics such as PVC, the more plasticiser added, the lower its cold flex temperature will be. This means
that it will be more flexible, though its strength and hardness will decrease
as a result of it. Some plasticizers evaporate and tend to concentrate in an
enclosed space; the "new car smell" is caused mostly by
plasticizers evaporating from the car interior.
Dicarboxylic/Tricarboxylic Ester-based Plasticizers
(I) Phthalate-based
plasticizers are used in situations where good resistance to water and oils is
required. Some common phthalate plasticizers are:
- Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), used
in construction materials, food packaging, children toys, medical devices, and cling wrap
- Diisononyl phthalate (DINP), found in
garden hoses, shoes, toys, and building materials
- Bis(n-butyl)phthalate (DnBP, DBP), used
for cellulose plastics, food wraps, adhesives, perfumes and also in cosmetics -
about a third of nail polishes, glosses, enamels and hardeners
contain it, together with some shampoos, sunscreens, skin emollients,
and insect repellents
- Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBzP) is found in
vinyl tiles, traffic cones, food conveyor
belts, artificial leather and plastic foams
- Diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP), used for
insulation of wires and cables, car undercoating, shoes, carpets, pool liners
- Di-n-octyl phthalate (DOP or DnOP), used
in flooring materials, carpets, notebook covers, and high explosives, such as Semtex.
Together with DEHP it was the most common plasticizers, but now is suspected of
causing cancer
- Diisooctyl phthalate (DIOP), all-purpose
plasticizer for polyvinyl chloride, polyvinyl acetate, rubbers, cellulose
plastics and polyurethane.
- Diethyl phthalate (DEP)
- Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP)
- Di-n-hexyl phthalate, used in flooring
materials, tool handles and automobile parts
(II)
Trimellitates are used in automobile interiors
and other applications where resistance to high temperature is required. They
have extremely low volatility.
- Trimethyl trimellitate (TMTM)
- Tri-(2-ethylhexyl) trimellitate
(TEHTM-MG)
- Tri-(n-octyl,n-decyl) trimellitate
(ATM)
- Tri-(heptyl,nonyl) trimellitate
(LTM)
- n-octyl trimellitate (OTM)
(III) Adipate-based
plasticizers are used for low-temperature or resistance to ultraviolet
light. Some examples are:
- Bis(2-ethylhexyl)adipate (DEHA)
- Dimethyl adipate (DMAD)
- Monomethyl adipate (MMAD)
- Dioctyl
adipate (DOA)
(IV) Sebacate-based
plasticiser
- Dibutyl
sebacate (DBS)
(V) Maleates
- Dibutyl maleate (DBM)
- Diisobutyl maleate (DIBM)
Other Plasticisers
(I) Benzoates
(II) Epoxidized
vegetable
oils
(III) Sulfonamides
- N-ethyl toluene sulfonamide (o/p ETSA),
ortho and para isomers
- N-(2-hydroxypropyl) benzene
sulfonamide (HP BSA)
- N-(n-butyl) benzene sulfonamide
(BBSA-NBBS)
(IV) Organophosphates
- Tricresyl phosphate (TCP)
- Tributyl phosphate (TBP)
(V) Glycols/polyethers
- Triethylene glycol dihexanoate
(3G6, 3GH)
- Tetraethylene glycol diheptanoate
(4G7)
(VI) Polymeric plasticizers
Some other chemicals working as plasticizers are nitrobenzene,
carbon disulfide
and β-naphthyl salicylate. Plasticizers, such
as DEHP and DOA, were found to be carcinogens
and endocrine disruptors.
Safer Plasticizers
(I)
1,2-Cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid diisononyl ester (DINCH)
Safer plasticizers with better biodegradability
and less biochemical effects are being developed. Some such plasticizers are:
(II) Acetylated monoglycerides; these can be
used as food additives
(III) Alkyl citrates,
used in food packagings, medical products, cosmetics and children toys
- Triethyl citrate (TEC)
- Acetyl triethyl citrate (ATEC), higher
boiling point and lower volatility than TEC
- Tributyl citrate (TBC)
- Acetyl tributyl citrate (ATBC), compatible
with PVC and vinyl chloride copolymers
- Trioctyl citrate (TOC), also used for gums and
controlled release medicines
- Acetyl trioctyl citrate (ATOC), also used
for printing ink
- Trihexyl citrate (THC), compatible with PVC,
also used for controlled release medicines
- Acetyl trihexyl citrate (ATHC), compatible
with PVC
- Butyryl trihexyl citrate (BTHC, trihexyl o-butyryl citrate), compatible with
PVC
- Trimethyl citrate (TMC), compatible with PVC
(IV) Alkyl sulphonic acid phenyl ester (ASE), compatible with PVC, vinyl
chloride copolymers, TPU, NBR etc.
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