Hazardous Substances in Childrens Toys - Despite Promises to the Contrary
21.06.2012
A new alarm about hazardous substances in children’s toys was recently reported in Sweden - a doll contained 10 percent of banned to use chemical substances and a duck bath toy, labeled as a non-toxic one, had high levels of a toxic plastic.
The Stockholm’s City Environment Administration collected earlier this year samples of 14 different toys in order to measure the level of banned and toxic chemicals. Phthalates was found in several of the products. This is a group of chemicals used as softeners in plastic. Three of the substances that this group contains are so harmful that they are completely forbidden in toys.
“I am actually not that surprised. We know that this happens. Naturally, I think it is bad and frustrating that there are banned substances in these products”, says Helena Schmidt, an environmental inspector in Stockholm municipality.
"No Warranty"
The product which contained the greatest amount of phthalates was the doll Princess Fich from Inter Agentur - nearly 10 percent of its contents consisted of phthalates. The second in line was a blue river girl from Papo. On a third place appeared a duck bath toy which also carried a label stating "bath toy of non-toxic plastic."
“The fact that a product is labeled as a phthalates-free or non-toxic is no guarantee that this actually is the case. One can still find such chemicals in them, indeed they are at low levels but it is not certain that it is zero”, says Helen Schmidt.
At the Chemicals Inspectorate one takes the situation of toys containing phthalates very seriously.
“Some of these substances constitute a great danger to one’s reproductive health. It is especially the testicles that can be adversely affected which can make it difficult to have children in the future”, says Christina Larsson at the National Chemicals Inspectorate.
Read the original article and view the video (in Swedish) here.
