Survey of Chemical Substances in Consumer Products, 67 – Survey and release of chemical substances in "slimy" toys

Survey and release of chemical substances in "slimy" toys

1 Introduction

1.1 Introduction
1.2 Purpose
1.3 Procedure

1.1 Introduction

In the shops, there are many toys, which are rubbery and slimy, e.g. “slimy balls” and “sticking animals”. The chemical composition of these products is mostly unknown, and a lot of these types of toys are sold as unique batches, which are only on the market for a short period. The toys are very popular, not very expensive and are consequently bought by the children themselves. The CE marking of the toys does not necessarily take into account the content and amount of possible harmful substances.

Today, it is prohibited to produce, import or sell toys and some infants' articles to children at the age of 0-3 years, if the products contain more than 0.05 weight% phthalates. A great deal of slimy toys is produced of or containing plasticised PVC. A frequently used plasticiser for especially PVC is phthalates. Consequently, in phase 2 of the examination screening for phthalates, among other things, has been carried out.

In certain cases, slimy toys may be designed as a cosmetic product, and in these cases, they are included in the EU Cosmetics Directive (Directive 76/767/EØF). Cosmetic products must not be of harm to the consumers; however, it is the responsibility of the industry to make sure that these products do not constitute any health risk to the consumers.

In the Danish Environmental Protection Agency's Statutory Order, it says: “Everyone who sells cosmetics is responsible that both container and outer packing, if any, is provided with the following information”:

Company name and address
Weight or volume
Durability date
Safety directions
The number of the fabrication series
What is the use of the product
The declaration of contents must inform of all ingredients, named by weight, at the time they are added to the product

Two cosmetic products have been included in this examination. The products fulfil the demands for declaration of contents in the Cosmetics Directive.

1.2 Purpose

The purpose of the project is to give a survey of the chemical substances that might be contained in rubbery and slimy toys and evaluate the exposure of chemical substances from the toys. It has been examined which chemical substances are used in the toys, and - in case the substances give cause to concern - whether these are released during use.

1.3 Procedure

Phase 1 concerns a market analysis of slimy toys, including a survey of which types are on the market. Survey has been carried out through literature, data sheets and trade contacts of the chemical substances used in such products.

This information has been procured from four sources:

Search via the Internet
Purchase of slimy toys
Through contact to suppliers and producers, whose identity appeared from the packaging
Through contact to a range of relevant shops and organisations

Phase 2 concerns qualitative analyses of selected slimy toys.

These analyses comprise screening by means of FTIR for identification of polymer types, phthalates and - to some extent - inorganic dyes. This analysis has been carried out partly on the product and partly on an extract in order to get a standard for which substances the toys may contain.

Furthermore, a qualitative screening for content of heavy metals has been carried out on the toys by means of ICP-MS.

Previous examination of ”real” slime products showed the presence of boric acid; consequently, a quantitative determination of boron through inductive-coupled-plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) has been included in the project.

A preliminary screening analysis of more types of slimy toys showed the presence of volatile solvents. Therefore, the project has included an analysis showing which volatile compounds might be released to the air when handling the toys. The analysis was carried out by headspace technique combined with GC-MS.

In order to determine which substances are released by contact to skin or saliva, migration analyses have been carried out in artificial sweat solution produced according to ISO 105-E04 and to artificial saliva produced according to Amtliche Sammlung von Untersuchungsverfahren nach § 35 LMBG No. 82.10 1, the saliva recipe has been copied from DIN std, no. 53 160. The extraction was carried out for 24 hours at 40°C according to DS-EN 1186-3. The substances, which are being released to saliva and/or sweat, have been analysed and identified by means of GC-MS.

The following qualitative analyses have been carried out:

Screening for polymer types, inorganic dyes and phthalates by FTIR
Identification of inorganic dyes and heavy metals by ICP-screening
Quantitative analysis of boric acid by ICP-AES
Quantitative determination of phthalates
Screening of degassing of volatile substances by means of headspace and GC-MS
Screening of release of organic compounds at migration to artificial sweat and saliva by GC-MS
Identification of up to twenty organic compounds by comparison with NIST library spectra
Determination of the proportional composition of the identified substances
Phase 3 deals with screening for possible harmful effects from substances, which are being released from slimy toys.
A screening has been made of the substances, which have been identified by the qualitative analyses. The screening is based on a literature survey in order to secure that the substances focused on at the quantitative analyses are the most relevant.
After the qualitative analyses have been carried out, the results are evaluated. Data regarding the individual substances in the form of NOAEL, LOAEL or other relevant data are used, as far are they are available. As an alternative to the substances, whose data are not available, QSAR-data have been used. A comparison has been made with EU's classification criteria.
Phase 4 deals with quantitative analyses and exposure scenarios. The following quantitative analyses have been carried out:
Quantification of selected organic compounds in artificial saliva and sweat by GC-MS
Determination of the amount and release to the air of selected organic substances by means of calculations made on the basis of the headspace screening analysis
Quantification of selected inorganic dyes and metals by ICP-analysis

Exposure scenarios have been made based on the expected exposures of the consumers of “slimy” toys. The exposure pathway was via the skin (hands and body) or by oral intake in the cases where depositions or residues from “slimy” toys on hands/fingers are subsequently put into the mouth. A worst-case situation would e.g. be, if the toy is put into the mouth and perhaps comes to pieces, and “slime” and content in liquid state are taken in orally. The third exposure pathway is possible via inhalation, since experience shows that some slimy toys release smell/scent.

The principles of the evaluations are based on EU's revised Technical Guidance Document (TGD) for risk assessments. In consideration for realistic worst case, the exposed consumers will be children with a body weight of 10 kg.