12 August 2024, Quezon City. The toxics watchdog group EcoWaste criticized the unchecked sale of unauthorized plastic nail sets marketed for children’s use that are sold with a glue containing a hazardous substance restricted in cosmetics and toys.
Based on the market monitoring conducted yesterday, August 11, toy wholesalers in Binondo, Manila sell various types of artificial nail sets with an accompanying glue listing dibutyl phthalate (DBP), a known endocrine disrupting chemical or EDC, among its ingredients.
This glue used for artificial nails lists dibutyl phthalate, an endocrine disrupting chemical, among its ingredients.
Despite the regulations restricting DBP in toys and cosmetics, at least 50 toy stores located at Divisoria Mall and at M. de Santos St. offer the unauthorized plastic nail products, which retailers resell to kids for P5-P10 per set.
Artificial nails with DBP-containing glue are among the cheap toys being sold outside public elementary schools, according to the EcoWaste Coalition’s back-to-school toy sampling last month.
Unauthorized artificial nail sets with DBP-containing glue sold at M. de Santos St., Binondo, Manila.
Aside from DBP, the glue contains acetone, carboxylated vinyl resins, hexamethylene, and methyl ethyl ketone as shown on the label.
It also provides the following precautionary warnings: “Caution: Flammable mixture. Do not use near heat or flame. Use with adequate ventilation.”
The label also warns “keep out of reach of children,” indicating that the glue is not suitable and safe for kids and yet it is used in a fun product marketed for children’s use and is sold in toy stores.
DBP is a synthetic chemical that can interfere with hormone functions, cause allergic reactions, and damage the reproductive system, the EcoWaste Coalition pointed out.
Considered a substance of very high concern, DBP is not allowed in toys in concentrations above 0.1 percent by weight in line with DOH Administrative Order 2009-0005-A.
DBP is also not permitted in cosmetics as per the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive, which lists DBP among the ingredients that “must not form part of the composition of cosmetic products.”
To recall, the FDA in 2015 confirmed the DBP content in this adhesive used for plastic nail sets in response to the toxic alert filed by the EcoWaste Coalition.
As stated in FDA Advisory 2015-006, “DBP has the ability to cause allergic reactions,” warning “there were previous cases where allergic response to DBP was found to be severe” and adding further “allergic reactions can induce a state of hypersensitivity in the immune system.”
“It can cause the immune system to respond to chemical exposures with immunological reactions that are harmful, varying from hives to life threatening responses such as anaphylactic shock, where low blood pressure and breathing difficulties can result in death,” the FDA said.
In 2021, the FDA issued Advisory No. 2021-0541 warning the public against the same artificial nail adhesive, which has no valid market authorization, warning that the use of the said unauthorized glue “may pose health risks to consumers.”
Several European countries have also banned over a 100 artificial nail sets with accompanying adhesive containing DBP and other chemicals of concern such as chloroform, hydroquinone or tetrahydrofuran, the EcoWaste Coalition said.
To protect children against DBP exposure, the toxics watchdog group urged the country’s health product regulators to take immediate action and stop the proliferation of artificial nail sets with DBP-containing adhesive.
References:
https://www.fda.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/FDA-Advisory-No.-2015-006.pdf