Phthalates
Phthalates in Children's Products
Lead, cadmium, and phthalates should not be allowed in
children’s products due to their potential for serious health impacts on kids and here’s why.
Chemicals Don’t Always Stay in the Products
Toys and other children’s products can contain a variety of chemicals
of concern, especially as the chemicals are not always chemically bound
to the products. When children put these products into their mouths,
some of these chemicals may enter their bodies through contact with
saliva. Some chemicals may also be released directly into the air and
house dust that children breathe.
Children Are The Most Vulnerable and Laws Don’t Adequately Protect Them
Because children’s bodies are growing and developing, they are more vulnerable to the effects of toxic chemicals
than adults. Even small amounts of a chemical can impact a child’s ability to reach his or her full potential.
Safety regulations for today’s toys and other products designed for kids inadequately addresses the presence
of chemicals linked to harmful health and developmental impacts for children.
Phthalates
Phthalates
are a group of chemicals used in many plastics and personal care
products, as well as in a wide range of industrial applications. In
many plastics, especially PVC/vinyl products, phthalates are used as a
softening agent to make the plastic flexible and more durable. In
personal care products, including lotions, shampoos, and other products
made for children, phthalates are used as fragrance carriers.
Phthalates are often added to nail polish as an anti-chipping agent.
Children’s Health Concerns:
• Research studies in animals and humans have found that some phthalates can disturb normal hormonal processes,
often at low levels of exposure. Such hormone disrupting chemicals pose
a special risk to children, whose bodies are still developing through
processes controlled by hormones. Exposures may produce developmental
defects or increase the risk of diseases such as cancer later in life.
• Exposure to phthalates has been linked to altered levels of reproductive hormones in baby boys.
• DINP and other phthalates are commonly used as additives in plastic toys. Studies have demonstrated possible
links between DINP and adverse impacts on the reproductive system, kidneys, liver, and blood.
• Phthalates are in our kid’s bodies. Human testing by the federal
government finds phthalates in almost all of the population, with the
highest levels in children ages 6 to 11 years and in women.
Currently Unregulated in Washington State:
There are no federal or Washington State regulations limiting
phthalates in children’s products. However, based on evidence of their
health risks, the European Union has prohibited phthalates in toys
since 1999, and recently expanded their ban to include all childcare
products that might be placed in the mouth by young children. The
European Union also banned certain phthalates from cosmetic products in
2003 due to their reproductive toxicity.
California recently passed a law to ban six types of phthalates in toys and baby products.
References
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. 2000. “Preliminary list of chemicals associated with endocrine system effects in animals and humans or in vitro” in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2000. Handbook for Non-Cancer Health Effects Valuation, Appendix C.; and California Prop 65 List. Chemicals Known to the State of California to Cause Reproductive Toxicity: DEHP (2003), BBP(2005), DBP (2005), DnHP (2005), DIDP (2007). http://www.oehha.ca.gov/prop65.html, accessed Oct. 2007.
Main, M.K. et al. 2006 "Human Breast Milk Contamination with Phthalates and Alterations of Endogenous Reproductive Hormones in Infants Three Months of Age", Environmental Health Perspectives 114, 270-276. http://www.ehponline.org/members/2005/8075/8075.html, accessed Oct. 2007.
Marsee, K. et al. 2006. “Estimated Daily Phthalate Exposures in a Population of Mothers of Male Infants Exhibiting Reduced Anogenital Distance” Environmental Health Perspectives Volume 114, Number 6, 805-809. http://www.ehponline.org/members/2006/8663/8663.html, accessed Oct. 2007.
Swan, S. et al. 2005. “Decrease in Anogenital Distance among Male Infants with Prenatal Phthalate Exposure” Environmental Health Perspectives Volume 113, Number 8, 1056-1061. http://www.ehponline.org/members/2005/8100/8100.html, accessed Oct. 2007.
Resources
Download our Lead, Cadmium, Phthalates Fact Sheet
Learn more - Download our fact sheets
Read about Toxic Toys in the News
Learn about our Toy Testing and the Healthy Toys Database
Learn about WA residents tested for phthalates in our Pollution in People study
