National officials blocked <\/span>248 models of toy<\/span><\/a> (likely tens of millions of units) from sale so far in 2019 after tests revealed <\/span>illegal<\/span><\/a> levels of toxic chemicals. Of these, 228 (92%) were categorised as \u201cserious risk\u201d; 219 (88%) came from China; and 127 (51%) were contaminated with phthalates, a plastic additive. One product contained 43% phthalate by weight – a <\/span>halloween mask<\/span><\/a> found in Germany. Two seriously contaminated toys found in Poland were plastic <\/span>medical<\/span><\/a> play <\/span>sets<\/span><\/a>, another was a toy <\/span>chemistry set<\/span><\/a> found in France.<\/span><\/p>\n Customs officers from four EU frontier countries checked 2.26 million Chinese plastic toys, blocked 722,598 from entering Europe after discovering illegal levels of phthalates and destroyed 31,590, according to a single joint enforcement <\/span>project<\/span><\/a> presentation last winter. Of the contaminated toys, 92% carried the manufacturer\u2019s <\/span>CE safety mark<\/span><\/a>. 21 Rapex alerts were created as a result.<\/span><\/p>\n Consumer groups yesterday released a <\/span>round-up<\/span><\/a> of toys tested for toxic chemicals by their members.<\/span><\/p>\n Large-scale <\/span>screening<\/span><\/a> for chemical pollution found that four phthalates pose a risk to children in 13 out of 15 EU countries. All children were contaminated with phthalates, on average twice as much as their mothers. Sometimes contamination was much higher, up to 12 times more than their mothers. Possible health impacts include reproductive disorders, delayed puberty and numerous behavioural disorders. The European Chemicals Agency <\/span>concluded<\/span><\/a> that the situation is not adequately controlled.<\/span><\/p>\n The EU <\/span>Toy Safety Directive<\/span><\/a> rules out production involving many harmful chemicals, but <\/span>neglects others<\/span><\/a>. Restricted substances are also <\/span>sometimes found<\/span><\/a> in toys because recyclers can legally trade in plastic containing higher concentrations than virgin material. There is evidence that some recyclers also sell plastic for toys containing banned substances. Some manufacturers break the law by selling toys with legal substances at illegal concentrations. Industry must supply <\/span>safety data<\/span><\/a> for most chemicals before they are used, while all plastics are exempted from this legal requirement. Manufacturers are not required to label toy ingredients<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n The European Environmental Bureau is the bloc\u2019s largest network of green NGOs. Today it launched a public awareness campaign to highlight toxic toys and the need for labelling.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/eeb.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/toy-set-2.jpg\")
Around half the contaminated toys were plastic (121), 73 were dolls, 62 were slime contaminated with boron, 27 were soft or squeezable toys. After chemical risk, toys were blocked because of risk of choking (192) and \u201cenvironment\u201d (51). Toys were the single most problematic good blocked (542), followed by motor vehicles (462) and electrical appliances (162), though inspections are usually not random. The findings come from the EU <\/span>Rapex<\/span><\/a> system, which alerts officials across Europe about dangerous consumer goods.<\/span><\/p>\n