Activists Urge Toymakers To Ban Liver-Damaging Toxin

Activists Urge Toymakers To Ban Liver-Damaging Toxin

WASHINGTON (November 13, 1998 5:09 p.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) -- Two environmental groups called on the toy industry Friday to ban the use of a softening ingredient in plastic toys because it has been found to cause liver damage in rats.

The chemical, which makes plastic flexible, has been widely used in many types of toys from baby teething rings to dolls since the 1980s.

While the chemical industry acknowledges that the chemical, known as diisononyl phthalate, caused liver damage when given to rats, it says that was at a much higher dose than the exposure from toys, and tests have shown the process that caused the liver damage in animals does not occur in humans.

Nevertheless, Greenpeace and the National Environmental Trust maintained that the chemical poses enough of a health threat to young children who chew or suck on toys that it should not be used.

David Ozonoff, chairman of the Department of Environmental Health at Boston University, said little is known about the health risks posed by phthalates to children. "These compounds do have a biological effect. ... What we know is that they can cause kidney and liver damage in animals," he said.

At least seven European governments have banned the use of phthalates in certain toys such as teething rings that commonly are put in children's mouths. The U.S. government has taken no action, but several toy manufacturers, including Mattel Inc., have said they plan to phase out use of the additive.

The American Council on Science and Health, a New York-based health advocacy group that gets some funding from industry, announced the formation of a panel headed by former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop to review the safety of phthalates.

The National Environmental Trust, a Washington based environmental organization, produced 31 toys purchases at random that contained large quantities of the softening additive -- from 17 percent to 49 percent content by weight.

Separately, Greenpeace said it had tested five toys and found similar amounts of the chemical.

"The toy industry is unnecessarily putting young children at risk during one of the most vulnerable periods of their development," said Joe DiGangi of Greenpeace.

The toys tested by independent laboratories included teething rings, dolls, baby cups, squeeze toys and toy animals. Most of the toys are for very young children and often are meant to be put in their mouths.

The chemical industry has been studying phthalates for years and has concluded that diisononyl phthalate poses no health problem for children.

James Santory, a member of a special panel commissioned by the Chemical Manufacturers Association to study the additive's safety, said it's no surprise that plastic toys have large amounts of the additive, which makes rigid vinyl flexible.

"We know it's in there, but a very small amount of it comes off and that small amount is not harmful. It is way below safe levels," said Santory in a telephone interview.

As for the animal tests, Santory said the doses were much higher than exposure would be from a toy. "Secondly, the mechanism that causes tumors in the livers (of the rats tested) aren't relevant to humans, based on the studies."

Harvey Karp, a pediatrician at the University of California at Los Angeles, thinks the chemical industry is underestimating the exposure to young children who often chew or suck on plastic toys and at an early age are susceptible to developmental harm if exposed to even small amounts of toxic substances.

"Some of the children in my practice eat more plastic than broccoli and the phthalates in that plastic definitely get into their system," said Karp, who was made available to reporters by the National Environmental Trust.

"Taking this off the market is a no-brainer," Karp said.

By H. JOSEF HEBERT, Associated Press Writer