HAZARDS OF SOFT PVC TOYS RECONFIRMED BY EU SCIENTISTS: 'THE ONLY SENSIBLE MEASURE IS AN EMERGENCY BAN NOW!' SAYS GREENPEACE

30 November 1998

Brussels -- A European Union (EU) Scientific Committee has reconfirmed Greenpeace's warning that soft PVC toys pose a health hazard to small children, including the possibility of cancer. Greenpeace called on Emma Bonino, EU Commissioner for Consumer Protection, to urgently propose an EU-wide emergency ban on soft PVC toys for children under three.

The details of the Scientific Committee's opinion, adopted last Friday, and expected for publication today, were communicated to Greenpeace over the phone by Commission officials (1). After examining major recent studies on the issue, (including the one done by the Dutch Consensus Group which plays down the hazards posed by soft PVC toys), the Scientific Committee on Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the Environment (SCTEE) has reached the conclusion that the levels of chemical softeners leaching from soft PVC toys (the phthalates DINP and DEHP) exceed safety limits and give reason for concern (2).

In July, on the basis of the Scientific Committee's first full opinion, Commissioner Bonino failed to achieve an emergency ban on soft PVC toys designed to be chewed by one vote and merely issued a recommendation to the Member States to ensure protection of children from the health hazards of soft PVC toys.

"How much longer will Consumer Health Commissioner Bonino allow small children to chew on cancer-causing substances in soft PVC toys, while safer PVC-free alternatives are widely available?" asks Axel Singhofen of Greenpeace. "It is now time for Commissioner Bonino to prove that she is not politically ruined: she must propose an emergency ban of all soft PVC toys and childcare articles for children under three."

The Committee linked the phthalates to liver and kidney damage and DEHP to testicular cancer. The concerns of the scientists relate to all soft PVC toys and childcare articles containing DINP and DEHP to which small children could be exposed, and are not limited to products such as teethers only.

The previous lack of regulatory action by the Commission triggered Austria, Denmark and Sweden to take national measures to ban the use phthalates in soft PVC toys. In Canada, soft PVC teethers and rattles have been taken off the shelves following an advisory by Health Canada issued 16 November, which also calls on parents and childcare facilities to immediately dispose of these toys. On 27 November, the Mexican Health Ministry committed to stop the import of soft PVC toys and withdraw them from the market while gathering more information.

Some toy manufacturers and retailers have also taken action to address the problem: both Lego and Brio have a PVC free policy, while the infant toy manufacturer Chicco has phased out its soft PVC products for under threes. Some other manufacturers, including Mattel, have announced limited action to phase out phthalates from some PVC products after Christmas, and Toys "R" Us has announced a world-wide withdrawal of `direct to mouth' toys containing phthalates to be completed by 18 November.

'Ten months ago the Committee raised their first concerns, and they have now reconfirmed the health hazards of soft PVC toys for small children", added Singhofen. "While the scientists have been conducting their laboratory tests, a real life experiment has been taking place in the mouths of European infants. Any further delay in taking emergency measures is scandalous."

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

- Axel Singhofen, Greenpeace International (EU) +32 2 280 1987
- Madeleine Cobbing, Greenpeace International +44 1453 753 988
- Luisa Colasimone, Greenpeace International +31 20 534 9546

Visit Greenpeace International's PVC Toys campaign website:
http://www.greenpeace.org/~comms/pvctoys/index.html

(1) The full opinion will be available on the internet site of the European Commission, DG XXIV: http://europa.eu.int/comm/dg24/index.html

(2) The SCTEE's earlier opinion of 24 April 1998 expressed concern about the low margin of safety for DINP and DEHP, but pointed to studies that were being done by a Dutch Consensus Group on the migration of the chemical softeners, phthalates, from soft PVC toys, which could modify the opinion. The Committee has now considered the Dutch study, along with others done in Spain, Austria and the UK and has revised its figures accordingly.

The SCTEE's new opinion has recalculated the margin of safety for the phthalates DEHP and DINP. The margin of safety for DEHP is 19 (previously 67), and that of DINP is 75 (previously 8,8), based on 3 hours exposure time (previously 6 hours) and migration levels as identified by the Dutch Consensus Group. Both figures do not respect the recommended safety margin of 100, giving clear reason for concern. Furthermore, the Committee indicates that 3 hours of exposure time might not be the actual maximum, so the resulting margin of safety might even be less with longer exposure. They also indicate that factoring in the additional exposure to DEHP and DINP from other sources would further increase the concern.