A few blocks away from the White House, the Clinton Administration's Commerce Department has worked in direct opposition to this entreaty. The EU took up the issue after health authorities in a number of European countries, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands, called for withdrawing soft vinyl toys, such as teething rings and bath toys, from the market. In March, Spain requested action by the European Union. Phthalates are used primarily as plasticizer additives to give vinyl products softness and elasticity.
Plasticizers comprise over half of the weight of some flexible vinyl products.
Ninety-five percent of phthalates are used in the production of vinyl products. Since they are not chemically bound to the PVC polymer itself, phthalates readily leach out of vinyl products. Up to 1 percent of the phthalate content of vinyl articles may be released during use each year. Several agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, have labeled DEHP a probable human carcinogen. In April 1997, a group of Danish scientists reported significant migration of phthalates used in toys.