Determination of phthalate esters in children’s toys

Abstract

A validated analytical method for the determination of phthalates (DBP, BBP, DEHP, DNOP, DINP and DIDP) in plastics was described and applied to 20 toys in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam. Phthalates in the sample were extracted in a mixture of acetone and hexane and analyzed by GC-FID. Limits of detection (LOD) and limits of quantification (LOQ) of the analysis method for DBP, BBP, DEHP và DNOP in the PVC plastic were from 0.0011% to 0.0014% and from 0.0028 to 0.0046%, respectively. Recoveries of DBP, BBP, DEHP và DNOP in PVC and PP at two spiked concentrations (0.1% and 0.01%) ranged from 86.6% to 91.7% with the relative standard deviation (%RSD) were from 2.5% to 8.7%. Wide ranges of linearity of standard curves were obtained from 0.5 mg/L to 100 mg/L for DBP, BBP, DEHP and DNOP and from 25 mg/L to 1000 mg/L for DINP and DIDP with R2 > 0.999. The studied method was a reliable, rapid, easy and cheap method and permitted to determine the restricted phthalates in plastic toys in compliance with European Regulation (No 1907/2006). The method was applied to determine phthalates in 20 toys in HoChiMinh city, Vietnam. Phthalates were found in almost soft PVC toys with high concentrations.