EUROPEAN UNION SCIENTISTS RECONFIRM HAZARDS OF SOFT PVC TOYS WHILE US DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND EU INDUSTRY DIVISION BLOCK BAN

6 May 1998

Amsterdam -- Greenpeace called on the European Union Industry Commissioner Martin Bangemann and the US Department of Commerce to stop blocking European efforts for an immediate ban on soft PVC toys. Meanwhile, a EU Scientific Committee reconfirmed the hazards represented by soft PVC toys.

In a yet unpublished opinion adopted 24 April 1998, the EU Scientific Committee on Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the Environment concluded that PVC teething rings made from polyvinylchloride (PVC) leach up to ten times the acceptable level of softeners known as phthalates.

However, Martin Bangemann, Commissioner for Industrial Affairs, has maintained that immediate action is not necessary or warranted. Further, the US is actively lobbying against any ban decision.

Greenpeace recently obtained a letter sent from the US Ambassador in Brussels A. Vernon Weaver to Hans Beseler, the Director General of the European Commission responsible for External Affairs, and internal "action cables" sent by the US Department of Commerce to US embassies in Europe to lobby against proposed restrictions on soft PVC toys (1).

These memos urge US government representatives to immediately "establish a mechanism to begin withdrawing EU bans and warnings on these and other soft PVC products," arguing that "a ban in Europe undermines the goals of free trade" and could result in "enormous loss of trade in these and similar products."

The memos also suggested that "no decisions be taken on PVC restrictions in toys until further scientific data is available", since "the discussion of a ban is based on hype rather than scientific evidence".

"While European national governments, consumers and parents, backed by a wealth of scientific evidence, are calling for an urgent ban to protect the health of their children, the US seeks only to protect the interests of US-based toy companies such as Mattel and Hasbro," said Madeleine Cobbing of Greenpeace International. "Mr Bangemann has to decide who he wants to protect: European children from unnecessary exposure to hazardous chemicals or the toy industry profits made selling hazardous baby toys ?"

The softeners DINP and DEHP, identified by the EU Scientific Committee as exceeding the margin of safety, were found by Greenpeace (2) to be the ones most frequently used in soft PVC toys, and the ones used at the highest concentrations ranging from 10 to 40% of the product weight. These phthalates have been shown to have critical effects on the liver or on the reproductive system.

A legal ban on baby toys requiring softeners has already been agreed in Austria, and recommendations for voluntary withdrawals of soft PVC baby toys have been made by the Danish, Dutch, German and Belgian Health Authorities. In March 1998, the Spanish government requested the Commission to take EU wide legal action against the hazards from soft PVC toys.

In April 1998, the European Consumers' Organization BEUC (Bureau Europeen des Unions de Consommateurs) called on the Commission to impose an urgent ban on soft PVC toys containing phthalates.

The entire life cycle of PVC plastic is a polluting process. Its production involves highly toxic precursors and generates hazardous emissions and wastes. When burned in accidental fires or waste incinerators, PVC is a significant source of dioxin and secondary hazardous wastes.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
- Axel Singhofen, Greenpeace International, +32 2 2801987 - Madeline Cobbing, Greenpeace International, +44 1453 753988
- Luisa Colasimone,Greenpeace Communications, mobile +31 6 53 66 29 70.
- Rick Hind, Greenpeace USA , +1 202 319 2505.

(2) "Determination of the Composition and Quantities of Phthalate Ester Additives in PVC Children's Toys", Greenpeace Research Laboratories, University of Exeter, Department of Biological Sciences, August 1997. 68% of all PVC toys examined contained DINP in concentrations from 10 to 40%.