The products were found in a random check of PVC-based products among Danish internet shoppers. Chemical analyses were carried out of a selection of 54 items covering a wide range of products such as swimming equipment, toys, personal care products, clothes, footwear, rainwear, products for pets, rugs, mattresses, electronic items, and building materials from hardware stores.
The identified problematic substances are cadmium, lead, phthalate-type plasticizers and chlorinated paraffins (SCCP). In a total of 24% of the products the content of one or more the substances was non-compliant with the regulations. For some products the threshold values exceeded the values for marketing in Denmark.
No apparent difference was found in relation to whether the product was purchased or produced within the EU (excluding Denmark) versus outside the EU.
For more details, please refer to the report Survey of unwanted additives in PVC products imported over the internet
DHI carried out toxicological and regulatory evaluations of the substances. The report was prepared in collaboration with the Danish Technological Institute on behalf of the Danish Environmental Protection Agency.
For more information, please contact:
Poul Bo Larsen
pbl@ dhigroup. com
Tel +45 4516 9478