New Directive (EU) 2021/903 is Published Regarding Limit Values for Aniline in Certain Toys

2021-08-31

Published on 2021-06-03 by the European Commission, the new Commission Directive (EU) 2021/903 amended the 2009/48/EC (Toy Safety Directive) regarding the specific limit values for aniline in certain toys.

Aniline (CAS number 62-53-3) is classified as carcinogenic category 2 and mutagenic category 2 under Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008. Aniline may also cause cancer at even the slightest level of exposure.

As a result of the recent European Union Risk Assessment Report on aniline, the opinion of various experts (including those of the Expert Group in Toys Safety and its subgroup Chemicals, as well as the studies on the presence of aniline in textiles) agreed that it was necessary to set a limit for aniline for certain toy materials (as specified in the table below), and to amend the Directive 2009/48/EC accordingly.

Changes:

In Appendix C to Annex II to Directive 2009/48/EC, details are as follows:

Limit Values of Aniline (CAS number 62-53-3)

30 mg/kg after reductive cleavage in textile toy material and leather toy material
10 mg/kg as free aniline in finger paints
30 mg/kg after reductive cleavage in finger paints

Effective Date:

All European Member States shall adopt and publish, by 2022-12-04 at the latest, the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive, and shall apply those provisions from 2022-12-05.

References:

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32021L0903&from=EN