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POPULAR HOLIDAY PVC TOYS LEACHING HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL ADDITIVES
Amsterdam, 12 December 1997
Greenpeace today released new testing results of PVC toys conducted by two independent German laboratories (1), showing that many popular holiday children products are leaching hazardous chemical additives, called phthalates.
The results showed that of the 23 PVC toys tested, 12 of them were leaching chemical additives at levels 5 to 6 times the recommended limits set by German official authorities. A one year old baby of 10 kg would receive an intake dose which is 13 to 30 times the daily intake limit set by the European Union.
Among the toys tested were several manufactured by Mattel and other companies owned by Mattel - Tyco and Fisher Price - and purchased in Germany, many from the world n.1 toy retailer Toys `R Us.
"These tests reconfirm earlier tests by the Danish, Austrian and Dutch governments that PVC toys leach hazardous additives" said Lisa Finaldi, Greenpeace toxics campaigner. "It is unconscionable that these products are still being sold, especially for small children. Manufacturers, retailers and governments must all take immediate responsibility to ban PVC toys from sale to protect children's health."
The products tested include Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Sesame Street characters as well as Donald Duck, Daisy Duck and Pluto Disney figures.
Since the testing data were first released in Germany on 3-December-1997, 50 % of the German retailer market has withdrawn from the shelves the soft PVC toys identified by Greenpeace Germany.
Independently, Greenpeace in the Czech Republic tested 8 PVC toys for chemical additives and leachability and found similar results as the German testing.
On 27-November-1997, the Danish Minister for the Environment and Energy Svend Auken asked the Environmental Protection Agency to work out a proposal for a ban on toys for small children containing phthalates.
" Enough is known about the way that hazardous additives leak out of soft PVC products to take precautionary action on PVC itself" said Finaldi. "The PVC and toy industries must take serious worlwide responsibility for the health of babies and children."
For more information:
- Lisa Finaldi, Greenpeace International, t. +1 919 828 51 96
- Luisa Colasimone, Greenpeace Communications, t. +31 20 52 49 546
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