Di-isononyl phthalate (DiNP)

Di-isononyl phthalate (DiNP), also abbreviated DINP, is one of a group of chemicals known as phthalates. According to the CDC: "Di-isononyl phthalate (DiNP) is a mixture of phthalates with branched alkyl side chains of varying length (C8, C9, and C10). DiNP is primarily used to produce flexible plastics and has replaced di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) in some plastics, though not in medical products. DiNP is widely used in such products as toys, flooring, gloves, drinking straws, garden hoses, and in sealants used for food packaging. People exposed to DiNP will excrete small amounts of mono-isononyl phthalate (MiNP) and other secondary oxidative metabolites." In studies on rodents, DiNP results in liver and kidney toxicity and liver tumors.

Prohibition of Phthalates in Toys
In August 2008, George W. Bush signed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008. The bill banned several phthalates (DEHP, DBP, and BBP) from "any children’s toy or child care article" in concentrations greater than 0.1 percent. The ban took effect February 10, 2009, 180 days after the bill was signed. Additionally, the bill called on the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to evaluate three other phthalates: DINP, DIDP, and DnOP. Those three chemicals would also be banned on February 10, 2009 in all children's toys that can be placed in a child's mouth or child care articles until the CPSC made a final rule determining their safety and legality. For the purposes of this law, the CPSC defines a "child care article" as any "consumer product designed or intended by the manufacturer to facilitate sleep or the feeding of children age 3 and younger, or to help such children with sucking or teething."

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