EU Published Test Methods on Phenol and Bisphenol
Publish Date:2024-12-21 View: Origin: adminOn 18 December 2024, the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) published two test methods: EN 71-18:2024 for determining phenol content in aqueous toy materials, and phenol migration from polymeric toy materials, as well as EN 71-19:2024 for determining bisphenol A (BPA) from toy materials. The two standards were developed to provide test methods to check compliance with the limits in Appendix C to Annex II to EU Toys Safety Directive 2009/48/EC.
The new standards EN 71-18:2024 and EN 71-19:2024 will be given the status of a national standard of CEN Member States and the conflicting national standards will be withdrawn by June 2025 at the latest. Currently, EN 71-10:2005 and EN 71-11:2005 are cited as the mandatory test methods for the two substances in the EU Toys Safety Directive 2009/48/EC, (as well as the UK Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011 No. 1881), the Swiss Toys Ordinance (VSS, SR 817.023.11) and the Turkish Toy Safety Regulation (OGY)). The legislations may be further modified by taking into consideration the newly published test methods.
One key difference between the new methods EN 71-18:2024, EN 71-19:2024 and the current EN 71-10:2005 is that the former methods require the bottle containing the sample and water to be placed upright in a horizontal shaker and to be shaken at (150 ± 10) strokes/min at (37 ± 2) °C (body temperature) for 180-187 min, while the latter method requires the bottle to be rotated at (60 ± 5) r/min at (20 ± 2) °C (room temperature) for (60 ± 5) min. The variety in the test procedure may lead to a difference in the results obtained from them.