On August 17,2016, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is proposing a rule to exempt four plastics with specified additives from mandatory third party testing used to demonstrate compliance with the children’s toys and childcare articles phthalates restrictions.

The four polymers exempt from testing are polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), high-impact polystyrene (HIPS), and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) requires children’s toys and child care articles comply with the CPSC phthalate regulation and children’s products require certification based on testing conducted by a CPSC-accepted third party conformity assessment body, stating the product complies with the CPSC regulation.

The proposed rule would create a new Part 1308 for “Prohibition of Children’s Toys and Child Care Articles Containing Specified Phthalates: Determinations Regarding Certain Plastics.” The four types of plastics that this proposed rule exempts from third party testing would still need to meet the current requirement (scope, limit, and phthalates) under section 108 of CPSIA. CPSC is issuing this proposed rule to help reduce the cost of third party testing.

CPSIA SEC.108. PROHIBITION ON SALE OF CERTAIN PRODUCTS CONTAINING SPECIFIED PHTHALATES.

Information of phthalates:

Phthalates are mainly used as plasticizers (softeners) for PVC and other polymers. They can be also found in adhesives, coated leathers, plasticized components and some synthetic rubbers. Phthalate plasticizers are not chemically bound to PVC so they may leach out. The fear is that young children and infants will chew or place an offending item containing phthalates into their mouths and absorb some of the chemicals into their bodies. Studies have found phthalates to be endocrine disrupting. Bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) has also been listed as a possible carcinogen. It should be noted that only a few phthalates are restricted.

BACL Service:

BACL, headquartered in the United Sates, is a global comprehensive international third-party testing and certification service organization. With knowledge of the laws and regulations of various market, BACL can not only offer testing and certification services for finished products including textile and garment, shoes and toys, but also help companies to execute quality control over the whole industry chain from raw material to finished products.