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Lead and phthalates found in toys

The limit for allowable phthalates was surpassed by 16 out of the 23 toys that failed the tests, three exceeded the limit for lead, and four were over the cap for both chemicals.

20.09.2010 |Seer Press, J.G Enriquez




Up to 46 percent of children’s toys in Singapore were tested and found to contain levels of toxic chemicals such as lead and phthalates which were higher than the allowable legal limits, according to a survey conducted by the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE). The survey found 23 out of 50 toys containing harmful chemicals.
Phthalates are additives used to make plastic toys more flexible. Ingestion can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. This chemical is also implicated in cases of infertility and even death if the victim is exposed long enough.
The limit for allowable phthalates was surpassed by 16 out of the 23 toys that failed the tests, three exceeded the limit for lead, and four were over the cap for both chemicals.
“I’m very disappointed. We’ve been depending on traders and distributors to guard the gate (of toy safety). It is quite alarming,” CASE president Yeo Guat Kwang said to reporters.
The toys were bought randomly from stores all over Singapore and ranged from toy cars to PVC balls. They went under chemical and toxicological examinations using international protocols such as what is practiced in the United States. The toys were all manufactured in China.
Insight Laboratories, a US-based company, performed all the testing in their Singapore facility.
Most of the contaminated toys did not have appropriate labels with place of origin and other manufacturing information.
Some of the toys were found to contain chemical levels that were just above the limits, but some registered significant levels of up to 500 percent beyond the limit permitted for phthalates.

Read the article on: http://seerpress.com/lead-phthalates-found-in-toys/5183/

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