Phthalates to be limited in children's toys

The federal government said Tuesday it will place newrestrictions on the use of six phthalates in children's toys and some child-care products.

Phthalates are chemicals used to make polyvinyl chloride a type of plastic flexible. They are also used to hold colour and scents in certain products. Sometimes referred to as plasticizers, phthalates can be found in a wide range of consumer products, including perfumes, nail polish, vinyl floors, detergents, lubricants, food packaging, soap, paint, shampoo, toys, air fresheners and plastic bags.

There is no immediate health risk from the chemicals,Health Minister Leona Aglukkaqtold a news conference in Ottawa.

"But we are concerned about the long-term effects they could have on children when the soft vinyl is sucked or chewed like a bib or a rubber duck for instance," Aglukkaqsaid. "Research shows that exposure to even low levels of certainphthalates can affect a child's development and behaviour."

Theregulations will help ensure that childrens toys and child-care articles imported, sold or advertised in Canada do not present a risk of phthalate exposure to young children, Aglukkaq added.

The new rules are an expansion of restrictions in Canada and follow similar moves in the United States. The European Union adopted more severe restrictions in 1999.

In force in June

Some medical research has suggestedphthalates may have feminizing properties in humans, while other research has said phthalates might belinked with abdominal obesity and insulin resistance in men.

The new restrictions will limit the allowable concentrations of DEHP, DBP and BBP to no more than 1,000 milligrams per kilogramin the soft vinyl of all childrens toys and child-care products. They will also restrict the permittedconcentrations of DINP, DIDP and DNOP to no more than 1,000 mg/kgin the same products wherechildren under four years old might put the soft vinyl in their mouths.

The new restrictionscome into force on June 10.

In 1998, Health Canada asked industry to voluntarily stop marketing soft vinyl "buccal" products those meant to be put in the mouths of young children, such as pacifiers, teethers, rattles and baby bottle nipples in Canada if they contained the phthalates DINP and DEHP.

However, the government subsequently found soft vinyl toys and child-care articles on the market that contained phthalates but were not covered by the voluntary ban.

Rick Smith, the executive director of Environmental Defence Canada, applauded theCanadian government's latest move to bring the country's measures in line with the U.S. and European Union.

New Democrat Glenn Thibeault, the party's consumer protection critic,called on Ottawa to devoteenough resources to protect children through proper monitoring and enforcement of the latest prohibition.

The federal government said it will use about 30 more inspectors to check for harmful chemicals including phthalates.

Since2009, any children's product sold or distributed in California has not been able to contain more than one-tenth of one per cent of phthalates. The European Union has outlawed the use of DEHP, DBP and BBP in children's products. DINP, DNOP and DIDP are also banned in toys that children under the age of three might put in their mouths.

After the ban takes effect, manufacturers who don't comply could face fines as high as $5 million.