Survey on plasticizers currently found in PVC toys on the Swiss market: Banned phthalates are only a minor concern

ABSTRACT

Plasticizers in toys are a recurring source of criticism and concern, as consumers feel they may endanger the health of their children. Most of the information available in literature concerns the presence or absence of certain phthalic acid ester plasticizers. Very little information can be found in the public domain with respect to the actually used plasticizers at a given time and place. In this paper, we present the plasticizer composition of 118 samples from 88 polyvinyl chloride toys found on the Swiss market in autumn 2015. Bis(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate (DEHT) was by far the most frequent main plasticizer in the analyzed samples, which is a change when compared to the plasticizers found in toys and child care articles in 2007. Furthermore, the data show that the banned phthalates in toys are only a minor concern. The occurrence, however, is not evenly distributed between importers. If a toy is not designed to be sold on the European market by the manufacturer, it seems to be more likely to contain a banned phthalic acid ester.

KEYWORDS:

• DEHP
• phthalates
• plasticizers
• PVC
• toy safety

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Karsten Hötzer and Priska Huber from the enforcement agencies in the cantons of Aargau (Food and Veterinary Office Aargau) and Solothurn (Central Laboratory Solothurn) for contributing samples to the study.