Toying with Toxics*

An investigation of lead and cadmium insoft plastic toys in three cities in India

Ravi AgarwalToxics Link

www.toxicslink.org*(pl. see website for full report)

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Global Toy Market

• Global toy market of the order of US$105.0 billion.

• USA is the world’s biggest importer of toys imports worth US$35.0 billion

• Germany, 18% of the world market (US$19.0 billion), Hong Kong 13% (US$14.0 billion), Britain 7% (US$8.0 billion) France 6% (US $ 6.5 billion).

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Indian Toy Market

• Unorganized sector dominates.• estimated US $1.0 billion organized sector• US$1.5 billion - unorganized sector.

• More than 1000 units in the small-scale sector larger number in the cottage sector.

• Large players like like Mattel, Lego, Funskool also present

• Soft toys account for 35% of total production of toys. Mumbai and Delhi - 95% of the toy output

• Imports flood cheap toys market (est but unconfirmed >70 %)

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Users of low cost soft toys :Urban Poor - Children

In India• nearly 130 million children below six years of age

• More than 6 million children in urban slums • Hence every sixth urban child in the age group 0-

6yrs a slum dweller.0 - 6yrs• Greater Mumbai - 0.86 million (13.2 % of city’s total

child population )• Delhi - 0.3 million (16.2 % of city’s total child

population )• Chennai - 11.5% (of city’s total child population)

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Soft Plastic Toys

• Cheap• Unlabelled• Mostly plastic and PVC• Vividly painted, pigmented

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Soft Plastic Toys

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Usage practices

• Toys have paint which chips, rubs off etc.

• Children chew, swallow, suck etc.soft toys.

• Parents save toys for next child – aging of toys

• Old soft toys are burnt – gaseous releases of pollutants like dioxins and heavy metals.

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Study Objectives

• To ascertain the total content of lead and cadmium in soft plastic toys (mostly PVC) collected from the three metropolitan cities of Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai

• To understand the usage pattern of such toys and the potential risks involved.

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Sampling

• 111 cheap soft plastic toy samples were randomly purchased from markets in three metropolitan cities in India. • 60 from Delhi,• 30 from Mumbai• 21 from Chennai.

• These urban markets served the needs of surrounding sub-urban and rural areas.

• Only non-branded samples were purchased in the price range of 30cents to 3 USD

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Sampling Locations

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Lab Tests*

• Ascertain type of plastic

• Ascertain total Pb and total Cd content

* Delhi Test House – NABL Accredited (National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories, Department of Science and

technology, Government of India)

Key Findings

•77 of 111 samples were of PVC plastic (%)

• Pb and Cd were found to be present in all tested PVC samples invarying concentrations.

Overall average concentrations• Lead: 112.51 ppm • Cadmium: 15.71ppm

RangeLead- 0.65 ppm to 2104 ppmCadmium - 0.016 ppm to 188 ppm.

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Lead exceeds US EPA* and CPSC Standards**

• Total lead standards as defined by these agencies• EPA 600 ppm in painted toys• CPSC 200 ppm in vinyl blinds

• Of 30 samples analysed for total concentration of Pb and Cd in toys brought from Mumbai, eight samples showed concentration > 200 ppm.

• Five samples (approx 20 percent) showed very high lead concentration - from 878.6 ppm to 2104 ppm

* USEPA: - 16CFR 1303

** Consumer Product Safety Commission - USA

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Comments

• Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has adopted European Union standards on bio-availability of lead and other heavy metals which is only voluntary in nature.

• No toy manufacturer in India has taken license from BIS. Compliance evidently only for export.

• Possibly similar situations exist in South Asian region.

• Internationally limits only for separate heavy metals and vary.

• Total exposure to children not accounted for, along with other chemicals leaching.

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Comments

• No study in India on heavy metals or toxics in softplastic toys - overall only very few.

• Consumer awareness is probably very low.

• Cheap imports flood market

• Organised sector needs to be studied as well

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Recommendations• The present study clearly demonstrates that PVC toys in India do

contain lead and cadmium. Some even have very high concentrations.

• Concerns about high leachability of heavy metals and other chemicals from PVC– safer materials needed for toys.

• No limit is safe limit, toys must be free of any toxic contents. No amount of lead or cadmium be allowed in toys.

• Issues of total combined chemical and HM exposures to children from toys needs addressal

• The entire issue of standards needs to be re-visited. Standards need to be made compulsory in order to make toy manufacturers strictly adhere to it.