Child Safety Group Pushes for Greater Toy Safety Based on Science

WASHINGTON -- The Child Safety Task Force (CSTF) today petitioned the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to regulate additives in toys for children and establish a national standard for toy safety.

"It's essential that the federal government restore both consumer safety and confidence in the marketplace," stated Bob Johnson, President of the Child Safety Task Force. "Parents should have assurance that toys and the chemicals within them will not harm their children."

Specifically, the petition requests the CPSC appoint a Chronic Hazard Advisory Panel (CHAP) to critically assess the risks to human health presented by exposure to toys or any other products designed or intended for use by a child under six (6) years of age that contain phthalates or other plasticizers used to soften vinyl products, and that the Commission update its prior assessment of di-isononyl phthalate (DINP), the most commonly used plasticizer in children's toys, as it deems necessary in its sole discretion.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission spent four years studying DINP and concluded that there is "no demonstrated health risk" from its use in toys and "no justification" for banning its use. Scientists for The European Union and National Institutes of Health have reached similar conclusions about the safety of DINP.

"Unfortunately, when legislators rush to pass laws ostensibly designed to protect the public, they often ignore the principles of sound scientific practice and rely on sloppy or biased studies," said Dr. Elmer Rauckman, Former Staff Scientist with the National Toxicology Program. "Legislating away a substance with a long history of safe use and a solid set of supporting data, is opening the door to incompletely-tested possibly harmful chemicals. It is important we know all the facts before we move toward a ban of any useful products."

CSTF is concerned about the unintended consequences of instilling a ban on a known, tested substance that would force manufacturers to replace DINP with lesser known alternatives. Many alternatives to DINP have not been proven safe by any U.S. government regulatory agency and could potentially expose our kids to unknown risks.

"Nothing is more important than the safety of our children," Amanda McGannon stated. "I'm a member of the Child Safety Task Force out of concern for the unintended consequences created by banning chemicals and using alternatives in our children's toys that we know little about."

Additionally, the petition asks CPSC to establish federal preemption over state and municipal regulations governing toy additives.

Last year the state of California banned DINP and created the unintentional consequence of forcing manufacturers to use plasticizers that have not been reviewed by the CPSC. The nation of Israel recently overturned a politically driven DINP ban. The states of Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, South Carolina and West Virginia stopped activist efforts to pass chemical bans in their states this year.

The Child Safety Task Force is a diverse alliance of organizations, scientists and consumers promoting sound science and government testing of chemicals used in children's products. We believe that confidence in toy safety can only be attained through proven science and approval from regulatory agencies of jurisdiction. Member organizations include, California Alliance for Consumer Protection, Consumers for Competitive Choice, Consumers First, Labor Council on Latin American Advancement, MANA: A National Latina Organization, National Legal and Policy Center, US Mexico Chamber of Commerce. Scientists include, Dr. Bill Knowles, Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry in 2001 and Dr. Elmer Rauckman, Former Staff Scientist at the National Toxicology Program.