Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
individually exceed a level of 0.1 wt. % in toys and childcare products
handled by children (younger than 12 years); the second group consisting of
DINP, DIDP, and DNOP cannot individually exceed a level of 0.1 wt. % in
toys or in childcare products that might be placed in a child's mouth. The
European Commission Regulations are more stringent in that they regulate
the combined level of all phthalates in a group at the same levels in toys
(European Commission, 2005). These ban the use of BBP, DBP, and DEHP
in all children's toys and also DIDP, DINP, and DNOP from those products
that kids may place in their mouth.
A review of data on toxicity of phthalates suggests the human health risks
to be generally low (Kamrin, 2009), but, there is enough uncertainty on
the long-term health impacts of phthalates to justify the adoption of a
precautionary stance. Of the 151 chemicals identified by the European
Chemical Agency as substances of very high concern, eight are phthalates.
TheUSEPAisworkingtowardincludingtheeightcommonphthalatestothe
list under TSCA Section 5(b)(4) and to regulate these under TSCA Section
6(a). The regulatory pressure on phthalates is an incentive toward
developing non-phthalate plasticizers. Also, alternative plastics that can
replace a large part of the soft PVC product market with the added
advantages of lower metal stabilizers and reduced chlorine load in the
post-use waste, are available. For instance, PVC enteral feeding tubes (EFT)
and accessories in ICU procedures can be replaced by the more durable
silicone or polyurethane tubes (Van Vliet et al., 2011).
Alternatives for conventional phthalate plasticizers are becoming
commercially available (Schmidt, 2008; LCSP, 2011; Krauskopf, 2003);
acetyl tri- n -butyl citrate (ATBC) are claimed to be dropped in substitute for
DEPH: some of these are listed in Table 7.8 .
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search