ECHA finds ‘hazardous chemicals’ in rubber, plastic consumer products

Helsinki - An EU-wide enforcement project conducted by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has found “excessive levels” of hazardous chemicals, in many consumer products, including rubber-based articles.

Through the project, enforcement authorities from 26 EU countries checked over 2,400 products, most of them intended for consumer use.

Of those, 400 were found to be in breach of EU chemicals law, said ECHA in a 13 Dec announcement.

The most common product types breaching the laws electric devises, sports equipment, toys and fashion products.

In the sports equipment like yoga mats, bicycle gloves, balls or rubber handles of sport equipment, 18% of checked articles were found to be non-compliant.

These, said ECHA, were mostly due to short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) and phthalates in soft plastics and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in rubber.

In non-electric toys like bathing/aquatic toys, dolls, costumes, play mats and slime, 16% of articles were found to be non-compliant, mostly due to phthalates found in soft plastic parts.

Among other restricted substances identified in toys were PAHs, nickel, boron or nitrosamines, according to ECHA.

In cases where non-compliant products were found, inspectors have taken enforcement measures, with most of them resulting in the withdrawal of such products from the market.

The non-compliance rate, said ECHA, was higher in products which originated from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) or whose origin was not known.