1. Is phthalate an essential raw material in plastic leather schoolbags? Which items are mainly used for?
Nowadays, many children carry school bags that contain plastic materials, usually, the material of these school bags is polyvinyl chloride. Polyvinyl chloride is the world’s earliest industrialized and most widely used general-purpose thermoplastic. It can be widely used in pipes and fittings, construction and decoration materials, packaging materials and films, electronic appliances and cables, transportation equipment, and imitation leather products. And coating materials, medical materials, and products, clothing and fabrics, sports and entertainment products, etc.
In the production of PVC, various additives are usually added to improve the performance of the product. The addition of plasticizers can improve its processability and give products flexibility. A good plasticizer requires good compatibility with plastics, good durability, and good environmental stability. In actual use, several plasticizers are often used at the same time to meet the performance requirements of plastic products. There are many types of plasticizers, and there are many classification methods. According to the chemical structure, it can be divided into the following types:
Phthalates;
Aliphatic dibasic acid esters;
Parabens;
Epoxy compounds;
Petroleum esters;
Chlorinated hydrocarbons;
Citrate esters;
Polyester plasticizers;
Benzoic acid esters;
Among them, the phthalate plasticizer has a wide range of adaptability and is a universal plasticizer. It can be said that PVC plastics and phthalate plasticizers are everywhere in our lives.
2. What are the hazards of phthalates?
Internationally, research on phthalate pollutants began in the early 1970s. In the early 1980s, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency discovered through research that phthalates can cause cancer in liver tissues and disrupt the endocrine system. This discovery aroused widespread concern. Studies have shown that: Phthalates contain weaker estrogen components, which can affect the endocrine of organisms and are a type of environmental hormone. It can enter the human body through breathing, eating and skin contact, causing harm to human health. Long-term exposure to phthalates has a damaging effect on the peripheral nervous system, which can cause symptoms such as polyneuritis, hypoesthesia, and numbness, as well as inhibit and anesthetize the central nervous system. After entering the human body, phthalates bind to the corresponding hormone receptors and produce the same effects as hormones, interfering with the maintenance of normal levels of hormones in the blood, thereby affecting reproduction, development and behavior. Long-term exposure to environmental hormones can cause chronic harm to the human body, which is mainly manifested as reproductive toxicity to humans and animals. The fetus is greatly affected by maternal hormones, resulting in male fetuses prone to hypospadias, testicles stop development, small penis, reduced sperm count, Symptoms such as testicular cancer and prostate cancer. Female fetuses are prone to symptoms such as endometriosis, vaginal cancer, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer, and breast cancer. The acute toxicity of phthalates is not obvious, but animal experiments show that it has teratogenic, mutagenic and carcinogenic effects.
3. Relevant policies and regulations
EU REACH regulations:
In toys and child care products, DEHP (2-Ethylhexyl phthalate), DBP (di-n-butyl phthalate) and BBP (butyl benzyl phthalate) must not contain More than 0.1% (weight percentage).
Toys and child care products that can be put in the mouth must not contain DINP (diisononyl phthalate), DIDP (dodecyl phthalate) and DNOP (di-n-octyl phthalate) .
The US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) stipulates as follows:
In toys and child care products, DEHP (2-Ethylhexyl phthalate), DBP (di-n-butyl phthalate) and BBP (butyl benzyl phthalate) must not contain More than 0.1% (weight percentage).
In toys and child care products that can be put in the mouth, the content of DINP (diisononyl phthalate), DIDP (dodecyl phthalate) and DNOP (di-n-octyl phthalate) must not be More than 0.1% (weight percentage).
Relevant regulations in China:
In toys and child care products, DEHP (2-Ethylhexyl phthalate), DBP (di-n-butyl phthalate) and BBP (butyl benzyl phthalate) must not contain More than 0.1% (weight percentage).
In toys and child care products that can be put in the mouth, the content of DINP (diisononyl phthalate), DIDP (dodecyl phthalate) and DNOP (di-n-octyl phthalate) must not be included. More than 0.1% (weight percentage), the relevant regulations of each country or organization can be seen in the attached table.
In summary, various countries have begun to pay attention to the potential harm caused by phthalate plasticizers, and research on phthalate esters as environmental hormones that may cause harm to the human body or the environment is still ongoing.
4. How should we respond?
In daily life, you must carefully read the packaging labels and use them correctly and do not heat plastic-packaged products casually.