In the meantime a ban already exists. The Opinion included suggested migration limits for each of the six phthalates they considered. More recent and extensive research showed that these effects in rats and mice are not relevant to humans. The group meets for the first time on April 6 and 7. Not only is it necessary to simulate the physical actions involved in sucking, mouthing, and chewing but it is also crucial to consider the many different shapes found in toys.
Many toys have curves and corners that are difficult to measure.
It is made even more difficult by the fact that when you cut a piece out of a toy for sampling purposes it leaves you with jagged edges and an 'inside' surface area, both of which a child would not normally be exposed to. There are often relatively large variations from toy to toy and from disk to disk. If a sample is not cut cleanly it can result in individual grains of PVC being dissolved in the solvent used. What you end up effectively measuring is plasticiser coming out of individual grains of PVC rather than from the toy itself. One stray grain of PVC can make a huge difference when you are measuring such minute amounts of phthalate, particularly in a medium that it does not easily dissolve in.