WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1806/98 by Alexandros ALAVANOS to the Commission. Use of hazardous substance PVC in manufacture of toys
Date: 1998-06-11
Institutions: ALAVANOS, European Parliament
Subjects: approximation of laws, carcinogenic substance, early childhood, harmonisation of standards, health risk, marketing restriction, plastics, product safety, toxic substance, toy industry

18.1.1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 13/7

can escape from plastic toys and enter the sensitive bodily systems of young children resulting in damage to liver
and kidneys, abnormalities of the reproductive system, cell mutation, the development of cancers in the liver,
kidneys and blood, and endocrine and hormonal disorders.

Is the Commission considering banning the use of PVC in the EU as this material appears to pose nightmarish
threats to the health of children in Europe?

(1999/C 13/012)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1806/98

by Alexandros Alavanos (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

Subject: Use of hazardous substance PVC in manufacture of toys

(11 June 1998)

Greenpeace(cid:146)s claims that toys made from PVC are banned in the nurseries for children of Community officials,
while as yet there is no restriction for other children, are having an adverse impact on public opinion. In
Greenpeace(cid:146)s view, the material contains substances suspected of causing long-term serious damage to the liver,
kidneys and reproductive system, and of contributing to the development of cancer.

1. Are such toys hazardous for children of EU officials but harmless for other children?

2. What measures will the Commission take to eliminate the risks associated with the use of toys made from

PVC, given that the warning (cid:145)for children aged 3 and above(cid:146) is deemed inadequate?

(1999/C 13/013)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2055/98

by Felipe Camis(cid:243)n Asensio (PPE) to the Commission

Subject: Possible dangers of phthalates contained in toys

(7 July 1998)

1. Has the Commission any scientific evidence concerning the dangers of phthalates add to PVC in order to

increase the flexibility of teething rings mounted on toys?

2. How does it consider that safety requirements can be reconciled with the social and economic interests of the

industrial sector concerned?

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-0755/98, E-0830/98, E-0996/98, E-1536/98, E-1806/98 and E-2055/98
given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission

(20 July 1998)

The Commission has been informed by some Member States, through notification of measures taken or planned,
of risks for child health posed by certain child-care articles and toys in soft PVC containing phthalates. Following
this information, the Commission has held consultations with the Member States on the nature of the risks in
question and the measures to be taken.

Due to the complexity of the scientific issues involved, the Commission has also consulted on the subject the
scientific committee on toxicity, eco-toxicity and the environment (SCTEE) which has delivered an opinion on
phthalates in PVC toys on 24 April 1998, completed by further clarifications on 16 June 1998. The SCTEE has
noted that the use of toys and child-care articles in soft PVC containing phthalates involves an exposure of babies
to such substances, which, based on the data available at present, may exceed, in the case of two of them (DINP
and DEHP) the levels considered to be safe.