A federal judge in New York ruled Thursday that toys containing high levels of phthalates, a chemical added to plastic toys to make them rubbery, must be pulled from store shelves by a Tuesday deadline set forth by Congress.
The move supersedes an earlier decision by the federal agency that oversees toy safety to allow stores to sell off existing inventory of the items but bar newly made toys from containing six varieties of phthalates until scientists can ultimately decide how dangerous they are.
Tests have linked the chemicals to infertility and testicular cancer in men.
The phthalates ban, which also applies to water bottles and other consumer products, was signed into law in August. The Consumer Product Safety Commission interpreted the law to mean toys and other items containing banned phthalates could be sold past the deadline if they were already on the market.
Not all phthalates are the same, some scientists say, and the ones most frequently used in toy manufacturing have tested safe. Others, however, say no phthalates are safe.
Thursday’s ruling stemmed from a lawsuit brought by watchdog groups Public Citizen and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Manufacturers say they would have to pull hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of products from store shelves to comply. Retailers were largely unaware of the ruling Thursday, though some, such as Toys “R” Us, have refused shipments of toys with phthalates since Jan. 1.
Officials at Wal-Mart said they were reviewing the court decision to determine its impact.
David Migoya: 303-954-1506 or dmigoya@denverpost.com
