EU Proposed To Tighten Up Chromium VI Migration Limit In Scrapped-off Toy Material

On 4 September, 2017, the European Commission proposed to revise the migration limit of Chromium VI under the EU Toy Safety Directive from 0.2mg/kg to 0.053mg/kg for Category III material used in toys, such as polymers, wood, textiles, paint coating, etc. Chromium VI migration limit for Category I and Category II materials shall remain unchanged. It is expected that the draft directive will be adopted in the first quarter of 2018 and come into force 18 months after publication in the EU Official Journal. 

Chromium VI is restricted under the EU Toy Safety Directive due to its toxicity and exposure to children. The final opinion of the Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (SCHER) on the tolerable daily intake limit of Chromium VI published in 2015 has updated the limit value for category III material to 0.0094 mg/kg. The Chromium VI migration limit for category III material is then proposed as a response. 

In order to achieve a much lower limit value for Chromium VI in scrapped-off toy material, a new test method is being reviewed by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) to allow reliable measurement of concentration value down to 0.0025mg/kg.

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