Washington state regulators have referred consumer products found to contain excessive levels of phthalates, cadmium, and lead to a federal investigation.
Erika Holmes, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Ecology (DoE), stated that test reports for these consumer products confirmed that they violated the limits for phthalates, cadmium, and lead under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA).
The 226 consumer products tested were sampled by DoE personnel from 12 different retail stores and included toys, clothing, and face paint. To determine whether these products complied with CPSIA standards, they were sent to a certification laboratory. Since 2009, CPSIA has required manufacturers to self-disclose hazardous substances in their products and whether these chemicals exceed their limits, but there is no mandatory enforcement requirement.
Five years after the implementation of CPSIA, random sampling results revealed that 35% of the 40 samples tested exceeded the phthalate limit, with some products containing as much as 190,000 ppm phthalates. Of all the samples tested, 28% contained phthalates exceeding the limit by at least 1,000 ppm.
Among all the samples, the most common phthalate exceeding the limit was DNOP, accounting for 33% of the samples, followed by DEHP, accounting for 10% of the samples; other phthalates exceeding the limit were DINP and DBP.
The test report also showed that two products had cadmium levels exceeding the limit (40 ppm) and three products had lead levels exceeding the limit (90 ppm). Other hazardous substances found to be in excess of the limit (1 ppm) included antimony, arsenic, cobalt, and molybdenum.
Following this report of violations, NGOs are urging the state government to take decisive action and establish mandatory enforcement regulations, so that there will be a legal basis for punishing illegal manufacturers in the future.
Sources: Chemical Watch (2014-04-23) (Compiled by PIDC)
