US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
CPSC denies petition to ban PVC in toys
February 2003
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has denied a
petition to ban the use of PVC in children's toys,
rejecting arguments by environmental and public health groups that
it can damage children's livers and kidneys.
The CPSC voted 3-0 against a petition filed by a dozen groups in
1998 to remove soft polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic from toys for
children 5 and younger.
"Consumers may have a high level of assurance that soft plastic
products pose no risk to children," commissioner Mary Sheila Gall
said. The agency staff recommended in November 2002 that a ban is
not necessary because children don't chew on toys long enough to do
harm.
"This is a fundamental principle in toxicology: The dose makes the
poison," said agency spokesman Ken Giles. Children "put things in
their mouth frequently but they don't leave it there very
long."
In denying the petition the CPSC accepted the conclusions of its
staff stating that there is “no demonstrated health
risk” from vinyl toys containing the plasticizer diisononyl
phthalate (DINP). DINP is the primary plasticizer in children's
vinyl toys. The DINP/vinyl combination is ideal for many children's
toys as it makes them flexible without sacrificing their
durability, at reasonable cost.
“We are pleased that rational, science-based
decision-making has prevailed in this regulatory process", said
Marian Stanley, manager of the US Phthalate Esters Panel.
“For anyone willing to look at the evidence, the great vinyl
toy scare is history. Five years of intense study by a panel of
independent experts and the CPSC scientific staff, including some
new, detailed research on the mouthing habits of young children,
has finally put the unfounded vinyl toy scare story to rest. The
petitioners have had their concerns heard fully and fairly. Now
it’s time to move on.”
The Commission’s final decision on this issue is based in
part on a new study it conducted on the mouthing habits of
children. The CPSC staff analysis showed that even children who
mouth toys the most (the 95th percentile) would ingest DINP at
levels far below the acceptable daily intake level. The CPSC
concluded that exposure to DINP does not pose a risk to children,
even if DINP were a component of all toys, rattles and
teethers.
The CPSC, which has the power to ban consumer products from the
marketplace, has spent five years addressing accusations and
petitions against the DINP/vinyl combination.
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