2021-01-06 17:19:48

The plasticizer DINP for PVC toys is not harmful to children

The plasticizer DINP for PVC toys is not harmful to children


Last month, the International Toy Industry Association (ICTI) issued a statement on the safety of the plasticizer Diisononyl phthalate (DINP), which is commonly used in PVC toys, stating that there was no risk to children. Chinese industry experts said recently that this statement is conducive to the export of domestic toys, and has a positive significance for driving the DINP market and promoting the adjustment of China's plasticizer product structure.

DINP is mainly used in PVC products, involving toys, home furnishing, packaging, cosmetics and many other fields that are in close contact with consumers. Although the European Union issued a statement last year confirming that DINP and DIDP(diisodecyl phthalate) pose no risk to human health or the environment and can be used in toys and children's products without further action, some people still insist that DINP is dangerous to humans. In fact, the debate about the safety of plasticizers has never stopped.

At present, the global annual production of plasticizers is about 5 million tons. According to the China Plasticizer Industry Association, China's annual production capacity exceeded 2 million tons in 2006, with apparent consumption of about 1.4 million tons. In the plasticizer mainly used in PVC products, the domestic dosage of the largest varieties in turn for DOP, DBP, DINP. After long-term evaluation, the harmfulness of DOP and DBP has been recognized by the global industry, and DINP, as the most emerging alternative products, its safety has drawn extensive attention from all walks of life.

Gong Liucheng, vice chairman of the plastic additives committee of China Engineering Plastics Association and a plasticizer expert, believes that DINP has the best development prospect among plasticizer products, and its safety is generally considered to be high in the industry, and it is a good substitute for DOP and DBP. He also said that the harmfulness of an additive product, need a lot of experiments and actual data to prove, but also need to carry out long-term environmental tracking, the identification cycle is generally more than 10 years. In 2005, the European Union stipulated that plasticizers of DEHP, DBP, BBP, DINP, DIDP and DNOP should not exceed 0.1% by mass in plastics used for toys and other children's products. However, the test data on DINP and DIDP was questioned by many, because the data came from an extreme situation in a laboratory in Sweden, which could not have happened in practice. In 2006, the European Union issued a statement confirming that DINP and DIDP pose no risk to human health or the environment. It can be seen that the identification of plasticizer safety is a very complex work.

"Consumers' perception of plasticizer safety mainly comes from government announcements and media reports. In fact, many consumers do not know the use and specific varieties of plasticizers." Related personage of Chinese toy association expresses. He also believes that as an international association of toy industry associations from different countries/regions, ICTI enjoys high prestige in the toy industry and is recognized by European and American toy manufacturers. Therefore, ICTI recognizes DINP, and European and American manufacturers will also recognize DINP, which can eliminate consumers' fear of plasticizers to a certain extent. A person in charge of a toy company also believes that among the PVC toys exported by China, DINP is a large amount of plasticizer, and ICTI's statement is beneficial to China's toy export.

Gong Liucheng believes that ICTI's recognition of DINP is very beneficial to promoting the development of plasticizer industry in China. At present, the plasticizer products in China are mainly DOP and DBP. Last year, the fastest growth of plasticizer production capacity in China is still DOP and DBP. The national DINP capacity is about 150,000 tons/year, of which 50,000 tons/year is owned by the enterprises set up by ExxonMobil in China, indicating that China's DINP capacity is still very low. Meanwhile, the market for DINPs has been dented by debate over their safety, and some European companies have launched more expensive alternatives. However, with the recognition of the safety of DINP by all parties, it can be predicted that the future development prospect of DINP should be optimistic. In particular, as the world's largest toy exporter China, the DINP market is worth looking forward to, China should speed up the pace of plasticizer product structure adjustment accordingly.