Assessment of Toxic Metals and Phthalates in Children’s Toys and Clays

Abstract

Toxic metals and phthalates are introduced in the manufacturing of plastic toys and modeling clays. In Lebanon, inexpensive plastic toys and modeling clays (sold in dollar stores) are affordable and popular, and there is no legislation to monitor or regulate such toys. This study aimed to assess the quality of inexpensive plastic toys and modeling clays imported in Lebanon. Metal concentrations in toys, namely, zinc [not detectable (ND) to 3,708 μg/g], copper (ND to 140), chromium (ND to 75 μg/g), tin (ND to 39 μg/g), and cadmium (Cd) (ND to 20 μg/g), were lower than the European Union (EU) Directive limits, whereas lead (ND to 258 μg/g) in 10% of samples and antimony (Sb) (ND to 195 μg/g) in 5% of samples were greater than the EU limits. In modeling clays, most of the metals were lower than the EU Directive limits except for Cd and arsenic (As). Cd was detected in 83% of samples, with a mean level of 9.1 μg/g, which is far greater than the EU Directive limit (1.9 μg/g). The As mean level of 4.5 μg/g was greater than the EU limit (4.0 μg/g) and was detected in 9% of samples. Phthalic acid esters (PAEs) were found in 60% of children's toys and 77% of modeling clays. Phthalic acid butyl ester had the highest-level PAE encountered and was ≤59.1 % in one type of clay. However, among children's toys, di(4-octyl) ester terephthalic acid was the highest encountered phthalate at a concentration of 25.7%. The community survey indicated that 82% of households purchase their toys from inexpensive shops and that only 17% of parents were aware of the health hazard of such toys. Consequently, an intervention plan was proposed for the provision of safe toys to children.

Total lead content and its bioaccessibility in base materials of low-cost plastic toys bought on the Beijing market

“…A random sampling strategy was adopted following several earlier studies [20,21]. A total of 59 low-cost, plastic toy samples in this study were randomly purchased from two large, wholesale toy markets that distribute their low-cost plastic toys to many small retailers in Beijing.…”

Field-portable-XRF reveals the ubiquity of antimony in plastic consumer products

“…Given the properties and applications of Sb, there are reasons to suspect that the presence of the element in our daily lives may be more widespread than is implied from current or past research. However, outside of the grey literature, systematic, quantitative information on the occurrence of Sb in the domestic and consumer setting appears to be limited to a few measurements performed on PET bottles (Chapa-Martinez et al, 2016) and other food-contact polymers (Puype et al, 2015), toys (Korfali et al, 2013) and end-of-life televisions (Saphores and Milovantseva, 2011).…”

Analysis of Hazardous Elements in Children Toys: Multi-Elemental Determination by Chromatography and Spectrometry Methods

“…News about contamination of heavy metals in toy materials continues to be alarming. Some of them like arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), selenium (Se), and zinc (Zn) are commonly used as coloring agents and catalysts to provide desired softness, brightness, and flexibility [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. The maximum levels of metal contamination should be strictly regulated and kept at the lowest level that are technically feasible or are of no toxicological concern because of the toxicity and effects of bioaccumulation.…”