EN 71-12 Safety of Toys - Part 12: N-Nitrosamines and N-Nitrosable Substances

In the EN 71-12 standard, a European standard, the requirements for N-nitrosamines and N-nitrosable substances for toys and toy parts listed below are described and test methods are presented:

• Toys and toy parts made of elastomers and intended for use by children under 36 months of age
• Toys and toy parts made of elastomers and intended for insertion into the mouth
• Finger paints for children under 36 months.

Examples of toys made of elastomers covered by this standard are balloons and teethers.

For the purposes of this standard,

• Finger paint refers to an aqueous semi-solid or liquid, colored mixture specially designed for children to apply directly to suitable surfaces with their fingers and hands.
• Elastomer refers to a flexible cross-linked macromolecular material that rapidly returns to its initial dimensions and shape after significant deformation with stress and stress release at room temperature. Not all elastomers are likely to contain N-nitrosamines and N-nitrosables. Possible N-nitrosamines and N-nitrosable substances in elastomers are included in the standard annex (Annex A1)
• N-nitrosamine generally refers to the substance formed by the reaction of an amine with a nitrosating agent at acidic pH. The amines that react are primarily secondary amines. An example of a nitrosating agent is nitrite.
• N-nitrosable substance refers to substance that, when released into the test solution, undergoes nitrosation to form an N-nitrosamine under certain conditions.

The N-nitrosamine concentration in finger paints, calculated as the sum of all N-nitrosamines detected, should not exceed 0,02 mg/kg. Migration of N-nitrosable substances from finger paints should not exceed 1 mg/kg of toy material, calculated as the sum of all N-nitrosamines detected after nitrosation.

Regarding elastomers, the migration of N-nitrosamines (calculated as the total of all N-nitrosamines) and N-nitrosable substances (calculated as the total of all N-nitrosamines detected after nitrosis) from toys or toy parts shall not exceed the limit values ​​shown in the table within the standard.

Our organization provides testing services for N-nitrosamines and N-nitrosable substances in terms of safety of toys, within the scope of EN 71-12 standard, with its trained and expert staff and advanced technological equipment, among the numerous test, measurement, analysis and evaluation studies it provides for businesses in various sectors. also gives.