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California Bans Plastic-Softening Chemical in Toys

Phthalate, widely used in baby toys, linked to health problems

By Truman Lewis
ConsumerAffairs.com

October 15, 2007

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California has banned toys and baby products that contain more than a trace amount of phthalate, a chemical that's used to soften plastics.

The substance is commonly used in baby bottles, teething rings, soft baby books and other toys intended for infants and toddlers, but some scientists say it interferes with hormones and can lead to early puberty, reproductive defects and other health problems.

The industry disputes that and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says it has found "no demonstrated health risk" involving phthalate.

"We must take this action to protect our children," said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as he signed what became known as the Toxic Toys Bill. "These chemicals threaten the health and safety of our children at critical stages of their development."

The new law, authored by Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco, will prohibit the manufacturing, sale and distribution of toys and child care products intended for use by children under the age of three that contain phthalates.

Banned in Europe

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California is the first state to ban the substance, which has already been banned by the European Union and at least 14 other countries. But the U.S. toy industry says the amount found in toys is so low it's not a health hazard.

The measure takes effect in 2009, when any product made for young children that contains more than one tenth of one percent of phthalates cannot be made, sold or distributed in California. New York, Maryland and Oregon are considering similar bills.

Not just toys

Phthalates aren’t found only in toys, but also a variety of products that have soft plastic components, and also in certain aerosols and liquids, including some hair sprays -- and, according to Greenpeace, the iPhone.

Greenpeace says the iPhone is losing "green ground" to other mobile phone competitors which are in the process of eliminating phthalate and other toxic chemicals found in the iPhone.

Your grandkids' rubber duckies

An industry Web site created by the American Chemistry Council denies any health risk from the toys but acknowledges that the chemical is pervasive in modern toys.

"From dolls to rubber duckies, a popular choice is vinyl made flexible by the addition of a phthalate plasticizer during fabrication of the material," gushes the Phthalte Information Center, a Web site created by the American Chemistry Council. "Flexible vinyl is durable and can endure years of hard play without losing its color, its flexibility or its fun. It is easily cleaned and is low in cost."

"Years after the kids have outgrown their toys, and after many non-durable toys have broken, become useless or just a hazard, the rubber duckie and its companions can be taken from storage to be enjoyed by the grandkids," the industry-funded site exclaimed.

Writing in a "blowback" to the Los Angeles Times, American Chemistry Council President Jack N. Gerard said the California measure has "no basis in solid scientific research ... It creates a mythical monster and asks the governor to slay it with a stroke of his pen."

"[W]e do strongly object to gross overstatements and the perpetuation of urban legends about these and other chemicals, all apparently designed to sow fear and uncertainty among consumers and product manufacturers," Gerard said.

Cleared by CPSC

Gerard noted that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) spent more than four years studying DINP and found "no demonstrated health risk" to children and "no justification" for banning it. The CPSC reaffirmed its findings in a letter to a state senator in July, he noted.

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