Toxic Toys Federal Legislation

Denver kids say no to toxic duckies.

No yucky in my ducky! (Ann Arbor)

Local TV interviews an Ann Arbor mom.

A 30-foot ducky oversees a toxic toy dump in Chicago. (Image credit: Liam Martin/Medill)

In a victory for parents and public health advocates, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act went into effect on February 10, 2009. The law bans from toys and children's products two toxic substances: the potent neurotoxin lead and hormone-disrupting plasticizers called phthalates. The amendment to include phthalates was championed by the Breast Cancer Fund because of their connection to breast cancer.

Phthalates make plastic toys and teethers soft and flexible, but when kids put them in their mouths, they can leach from toy to child. The chemicals have been linked to a number of serious health problems including birth defects, early puberty (a risk factor for breast cancer) and testicular cancer. Despite the availability of safe alternatives, phthalates have remained common in toys. Tips for avoiding phthalates »

Consumer Safety Commission Undermining the Law

This victory has been tempered by ongoing challenges from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the agency charged with implementation. Parents, advocates and lawmakers have been calling for new leadership at the CPSC to implement the ban as intended. President Obama listened to these requests, and on May 5 he nominated Inez Moore Tenenbaum, former state superintendent of education in South Carolina, to head the CPSC.

Though Congress intended that no toys made with phthalates should be sold after February 10, the CPSC has acted repeatedly to jeopardize that intent.

First, in a gross misinterpretation of the law, the CPSC decided that stores could continue to sell down inventories of toxic toys that were manufactured before the February deadline. Natural Resources Defense Council and Public Citizen sued the CPSC in response, and a federal judge sided with the nonprofits, ruling that toys made with phthalates must come off store shelves on February 10, period.

Next, the CPSC issued a one-year stay of enforcement on the testing portion of the law, advising that "manufacturers and importers – large and small – of children's products will not need to test or certify to these new requirements, but will need to meet the lead and phthalates limits." So while the ban on lead and phthalates is active, manufacturers and importers off the hook for testing their products.

Parents, Scientists, Legislators Boosted Safe Toys Efforts

The phthalates amendment, authored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), was one of the most contested elements of the Act during a months-long conference committee to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. The amendment faced intense opposition from the chemical industry and Exxon Mobil, a major producer of the phthalate DINP.

We perservered: The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, including the phthalates amendment, was finally signed into law by President Bush on August 14, 2008.

Throughout the debate over the phthalates amendment, parents played a major role. Families rallied in support of the amendment in Denver on May 19, and in Chicago and Ann Arbor, Mich. on June 3. Kids, parents, local advocates and elected officials demanded safe toys for all U.S. families and dumped phthalate-laden rubber duckies.

At a June 11 hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, scientists presented evidence of the toxicity of phthalates. Eighty-seven legislators from 28 states signed on to a May 19 letter to the conferees in support of the phthalate amendment. In addition, 60 organizations stated their support for the amendment in a May 27 letter to legislators.

Tips for Buying Safe Toys

The phthalate ban went into effect February 10, 2009. But because the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the agency in charge of implementing the law, has taken steps to undermine it (see above), products on store shelves may contain phthalates. Our suggestion for now: buyer beware. Know what to look for when buying plastic toys and avoid phthalates:

• Soft plastic toys that young children might put in their mouths may contain phthalates unless they are marked "phthalate-free," "PVC-free" or "EU compliant," or they carry the CE mark (which indicates that the product is compliant with European Union regulations and therefore should be phthalate-free).
  
• Both teethers and pacifiers sold in the United States are supposed to be phthalate-free already, though parents should purchase these items from reputable retailers.
  
• Recycling codes (if toys have them) may help you determine if the items are made with PVC, which often contains phthalates. PVC plastics are marked #3. Better choices are codes #1, #2 or #5. The Breast Cancer Fund recommends that people also avoid plastics marked #6 (styrene) and #7 ("other," but often BPA-based).
  
• To be safe, we recommend that parents discard soft plastic toys and childcare articles that do not fall into one of the exceptions listed above. When purchasing new items, look for phthalate-free toys and make sure retailers know phthalate-free merchandise is important to you.

Resources

Toxic Toys fact sheet PDF »
Phthalates fact sheet PDF »
Feinstein Toxic Toys Amendment fact sheet PDF »
Phthalates and breast cancer fact sheet PDF »
DINP in toys fact sheet PDF »
Business response to phthalates in toys PDF »