Colortec Química, AIJU & IISG create new reference materials to support the toy sector

Online, June 15, 2010 (Newswire.com) - The consumer society progressively asks for higher safety guarantees on consumer products, specially relating to its chemical composition. One of the sectors with higher safety requirements, due to its vulnerability, is the toy sector, whose applicable legislation has a high level of exigency in Europe. As clear proof of that, we should mention the continuous innovations and extensions of both the Directives (currently Directive on Toy Safety, 2009/48/CE, that reinforces the required chemical safety requirements) and the Regulations of application. In this respect REACH regulation can be mentioned, in force since June 2007, which regulates manufacturing, commercialization and use of chemical products in the European Market.
In order to verify the chemical composition of a toy the bioavailability of those elements considered as toxics is controlled. This bioavailability is determined by the migration of those elements from the toy matrix to its surface. The certified reference materials are used as validators of the analytical techniques employed for their determination. Luisa Marín, project coordinator at AIJU establishes that "The employ of these reference materials for comparative issues while undertaking the test of the product will avoid the necessity of carrying out a more specific analysis, if the preliminary result do not show the presence of the toxic element searched in the test. This optimization will contribute to enhance the control efficiency of the product and, consequently, its safety and quality".
One of the main problems in the certified reference materials, in the specific case of the migration test, is the short supply available in the market and their high cost. This is one of the factors that drove Colortec Química, S.L., together with AIJU and IISG, to develop a project for the preparation of polymeric materials able to be used as certified reference materials for the toxic elements migration test in toys and childcare articles according to the requirements established by the new Directive.
This project is carried out in the Framework of EUROSTARS European program (Eureka initiative and the European Commission). It helps SMEs that carry out R+D tasks to develop transnational market-oriented projects, thus boosting the competitiveness of the European enterprises by undertaking technological projects. In Spain, the projects of this program are managed by the Science and Innovation Ministry, through CDTI, Center for the Industrial Technological Development, within the Inter-enterprises International funding program.