Detection and Characterization of Children's Soft Toy for Phthalate Esters

Abstract

On November 19, 2009, the European Union regulated three phthalates esters; Benzyl Butyl Phthalate (BBP), DiButyl Phthalate (DBP), and DiEthylHexyl Phthalate (DEHP) to a limit of less than 0.1% in all imported toys and articles. However, the U.S regulation strongly prohibited BBP, DBP and DEHP and at any concentrations more than 0.1%. These regulations thus indicate how serious phthlate esters and their effect on health. In the current study, five (5) imported samples of soft toys were obtained from local markets and analyzed for six (6) types of phthalate esters of BBP, DBP, DEHP, Din-Octyl Phthalate (DnOP), DiIsoNonyl Phthalate (DINP) and DiIsoDecyl Phthalate (DIDP) respectively. The method used was established by Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Malaysia while characterization performed by Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). This study found all the samples to contain high percentage of DEHP while two (2) contained acceptable levels of DBP. Other phthlate esters were however not detected or below the detection limit of GC-MS.