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What you need to know about "phthalates" and the new CPSC guidelines of February 10, 2009
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Effective February 10, 2009, the CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) has mandated new guidelines with respect to phthalates (pronounced "thalates") and child care items, including crib mattresses.
A link to the new law can be found HERE on the CPSC website.
But here is what you need to know, in a nutshell:
What are phthalates?
Phthalates are a group of chemicals that are used to soften hard plastic, such as PVC. They are widely used in many household items (i.e., most items that have plastic will also have some level of phthalates.)
As far as crib mattresses, phthalates are within the vinyl plastic covering.
Vinyl is a plasticized form of PVC. By itself, PVC is toxic enough; it's widely considered to be one of the most toxic and environmentally unfriendly plastics in use today.
There are 6 types of phthalates that are being used by mattress manufacturers, namely:
DEHP, DBP, BBP, DINP, DIDP, and DnOP
What is the danger of phthalates?
Phthalate have been shown to leach out of the plastic mattress cover, where they can be inhaled and absorbed by newborns and toddlers. Research links phthalates with endocrine system problems, especially in boys. In 1997, a study published in the International Journal of Cancer found a high risk of testicular cancer associated with exposure to PVC products. Other research has also linked phthalates with cancer to the testes as well liver problems and other types of cancer.
Numerous U.S. government agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The U.S. Department of Health, the FDA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission have issued public safety statements concerning the use of phthalates.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) also reported about unsafe exposure to phthalates. In one study, the AAP noted that phthalate chemicals were animal carcinogens known to cause fetal death, malformations and problems with the endocrine system. The AAP went on to say that the adverse risk to children was greater due to the fact that their bodies and organ systems were still developing.
What is the new CPSC law about Phthalates?
The CPSC has known about the potentials dangers of phthalates, as it relates to newborns, for many years. In fact, a law was passed in 2008 that severely restricted the use of phthalates in child items such as rattlers, teethers, and other items that are often placed in a newborns mouth.
But the dangers of phthalates did no go away completely with this law, as there were other child care items that were still allowed to contain phthalates. (i.e., crib mattresses)
Prior to February 10, 2009, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) allowed crib mattresses with phthalates to be manufactured and even to be sold indefinitely until manufacturer’s inventory was depleted. This would have taken months, or even years to completely use up.
However, as of February 10, 2009, the CPSC ruled that children’s toys and child care articles that will be sold on store shelves cannot contain more that 0.1% of the six phthalates (DEHP, DBP, BBP, DINP, DIDP, and DnOP)… regardless of when they were manufactured.
That means this new ruling also affects products that are in inventory…they must be destroyed, and cannot be sold or exported!
This means that any crib mattress purchased after February 10, 2009 will not contain these dangerous phthalates…which is a great comfort to parents.
However, while this is a welcome and long overdue ruling, there is currently no recall of the millions of mattresses containing these banned chemicals that are already in homes across America.
This means that if you have purchased a crib mattress in the last few years that has a vinyl covering, it is almost certain to contain these phthalates.
The burden of replacing these older vinyl crib mattresses, with new ones that do not contain these phthalates, has fallen on the shoulders of concerned parents across the nation,
It's also important to note that even if all phthalates are removed, other questionable chemicals are likely to be substituted, which may also pose a health risk to your infant or toddler.
In addition, all crib mattresses sold in the United States contain fire proofing chemicals that may also be toxic to newborns, and may even be linked to SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome)
Surprisingly, in July of 2007, the CPSC mandated the use of these fire proofing chemicals in ALL types of mattresses, including crib mattresses.
While the CPSC’s primary initiative of this ruling was to prevent crib mattress fires, it’s unintended consequence was in exposing millions of newborns across the United States to potentially toxic flame retardant chemicals.
What are these fire retardant chemicals?
The main ones being used today by mattress manufacturers are:
Boric Acid (the active ingredient in roach killer)
Antimony (which has been linked to SIDS, and has been banned in all of Europe)
You can watch an informative video on the history and dangers of these flame retardant chemicals HERE
Is an organic crib mattress any safer?
Not necessarily. In fact, organic crib mattresses have to abide by the flame proof law of 2007, and as result, MUST contain some kind of flame retardant barrier.
Many of them are using flame retardant chemicals that could potentially be toxic or harmful to a newborn or toddler.
You can read about some of the potential problems of organic crib mattresses HERE
Is there a solution to this issue?
Yes, a prescription crib mattress is probably the safest environment for your babies and toddlers because of the following 3 reasons:
1) They do not contain any flame retardant chemicals (only allowed by federal law if the parents have a Dr. prescription)
2) They do not contain any banned phthalates, as they do not use a vinyl covering on their crib mattresses. They use an all natural, organic cotton covering.
3) They conform to the mandated standard sizes of all crib mattresses, so they will fit in any crib frame.
It is important to note that any crib mattress purchased in the United States without a Dr. prescription is 100% certain to contain flame retardant chemicals, as per federal law. The only option to bypass this law is to obtain a Dr. prescription and request a crib mattress with no flame retardants.
If you would like to learn more about these prescription crib mattresses, and how to obtain one, including a Dr. prescription, please click HERE
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