Toxic Toys Federal Legislation

In a major victory for parents and public health advocates, the U.S. Senate sent the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act, including an amendment that would ban six toxic phthalates from children's toys and childcare articles, to President Bush on July 31. The President has indicated he will sign the bill.

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 has faced intense opposition from the chemical industry and Exxon Mobile, a major producer of the phthalate DINP.

The Reform Act also bans lead from toys. But while lead prompted mass recalls last year, phthalates are widespread in toys and still legal in most states. Phthalates have been linked to a number of serious health problems including birth defects, early puberty (a risk factor for breast cancer) and testicular 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. They have no place in our children's toys, especially since safe alternatives exist.

(Breast Cancer Fund, 31/07/2008)