EU confirms ban on chemicals in baby toys

European Union ministers confirmed yesterday a ban on six chemicals often found in PVC baby toys due to concern they threaten childrens' health.

The ban, introduced as a temporary emergency measure in 1999, concerns six chemicals called phthalates that are used to soften the PVC in toys designed to be put in babies' mouths.

The ban was proposed because of fears the phthalates could harm the babies by leaking out of the toys.

The EU's decision has angered industry as it will permanently shut the EU market of 450 million citizens to a large range of toys containing the hazardous substances.

But consumer associations supported the decision. "It's a step in the right direction. We are dealing with the health of the most vulnerable people and there is scientific evidence that the products are dangerous," Caroline Hayat, from Europe's consumer interests group BEUC, told Reuters.

Many of such toys are produced in Asia, Ms Hayat said. Scientific evidence showed that some of the chemicals could pose a range of risks to the health of babies, including their future reproductive functions.

Three phthalates - DEHP, DBP and BBP - for which the risks were deemed higher will be banned from all toys.

For the other three - DINP, DIDP an DNOP - the prohibition will concern mainly toys aimed at children under the age of three that could be placed in a child's mouth.

The ministers' agreement needs to be ratified by the European Parliament to become law in the 25-nation EU bloc. But the procedure may take a whole year.

Phthalates are the most commonly used plasticisers in the world. They are a family of chemical substances that have been in use for more than half a century, primarily to make polyvinyl chloride (PVC) soft and flexible.