Commission launches public consultation on the Preliminary Opinion on the safety of the presence of cobalt in toys
date: 18/07/2022
Last Friday, 15 July 2022, following a request from the European Commission, the Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) provided a Preliminary Opinion on the safety of the presence of cobalt in toys in light of the exposure identified, and in light of the classification of cobalt as carcinogenic category 1B, mutagenic category 2 and toxic for reproduction category 1B.
Interested parties are invited to submit their comments on the scientific evidence online SCHEER - Public consultation on the Preliminary Opinion on the safety of the presence of cobalt in toys until 18 August 2022.
The Opinion answers the questions addressed in the terms of reference received by assessing the release of cobalt and potential exposure to different toys and toy materials.
To address the terms of reference of this Opinion, the SCHEER evaluated information on the use of cobalt in toys provided by the Toys Industries of Europe (TIE) as well as information retrieved from a literature search. In addition, literature provided by the working group members was considered. In its scientific work, the SCHEER relies on its Memorandum on Weight of Evidence (WoE).
Risk due to cobalt inhalation associated with the use of cobalt-containing metals can be considered negligible; a potential risk can be associated for inhalation exposure to cobalt from powder-like toy materials, containing cobalt-base pigments/colourants: for such toys, cobalt-free pigments should be used. Specific attention should be given to the ‘emerging’ use of cobalt-containing materials in 3D pens and 3D-printers.
For the oral exposure, based on available toxicological reference values, the SCHEER calculated new migration limits for cobalt in toys, in relation to oral exposure. However, due to the uncertainties regarding the carcinogenic properties for cobalt after oral exposure, the SCHEER recommends reducing migration limits to the lowest technically achievable levels.
For the dermal exposure, the ECHA restrictions on cobalt content in textiles and leather can be assumed to also protect children from sensitization from all toy materials that are in contact with the skin.
The analysis of alternatives as performed so far by TIE is considered insufficient. Due to their availability, the SCHEER recommends that cobalt-free pigments should be used.