Illegal, cancer-causing chemicals detected in Canadian toys and electronics, new U of T study finds

Scientists from the University of Toronto have detected cancer-causing chemicals called short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) in over 87 per cent of products tested, despite the toxins being banned in Canada for a decade now.

The study, published Tuesday morning in the journal Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, found the greatest levels of SCCPs in toys and electronics like headphones - sparking concerns over children being exposed to the chemical.

These results really surprised me," said Hui Peng, the study's principal investigator and an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Toronto. (SCCPs) are supposed to be banned ten years ago, but they are still being detected in very high concentrations in indoor environments."

Their study is the first to show the ubiquitous occurrences" of SCCPs across a wide array of products in Canada, Peng said.

What are chlorinated paraffins?

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs) are chemicals used in a wide array of products, including as an additive in plastics, Peng explained. Because the chemical is not tightly bound to the plastic polymers, however, they are easily released during use.

For example, if you touch your laptop, (CPs) can immigrate from the laptop to your fingers, then to your mouth," Peng said.

CPs are classed according to the length of their carbon chains as: short-chain (SCCPs), medium-chain (MCCPs) and long-chain chlorinated paraffins (LCCPs). Canada has prohibited the manufacture, sale, use and import of SCCPs since 2013 - however, studies have shown MCCPs to be comparatively toxic" to its shorter cousin, Peng said.

There are a lot of studies reporting the toxicities of chlorinated paraffins in animals," Peng continued - for example, SCCPs have been linked to cancer, liver damage, developmental damage, disruptions to the metabolism and endocrine system and more in animals, according to a 2019 review.

CPs and SCCPs can travel great distances, causing them to be widely detected everywhere from lakes and oceans, to indoor house dust, to human blood, breast milk and more.

As such, SCCPs are listed as a persistent organic pollutant for elimination by the Stockholm Convention and is recognized by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a possible carcinogen in humans.

Which products had the most chlorinated paraffins?

The study surveyed 96 products recently purchased from retailers in Toronto, including electronic devices, toys, personal care products, indoor furniture and other plastic products. SCCPs were detected in 84 of the items.

Although the researchers didn't track specific brands or the exact origins of the items, they note the toys were all imported. SCCPs were present in all 24 toys tested.

The highest concentrations of all three CPs were found in the outer plastic coating of headphone wires, according to the study. Close behind were several toys and toy packagings, with the worst offender being a foam ball - findings that have direct implications for exposure to infants and toddlers by hand-to-mouth transfer and/or mouthing," the study reads.

The result is corroborated by a previous study done in Australia that found toddlers have higher levels of SCCPs in their blood than adults.

Although the study sourced all their samples from Toronto, Peng believes their results apply to the rest of Canada as many of the same products are sold across the country.

Why are chlorinated paraffins still being detected after the ban?

According to Arlene Blum, executive director of the Green Science Policy Institute and an author on the study, SCCPs are incredibly difficult and expensive to detect - and that's allowed some manufacturers to sneak them past regulators.

I think one problem is there are complex supply chains for manufacturing," Blum told the Star. Often people who are making products don't really know what's in their product - and it's really hard to find out."

For example, even if companies explicitly say they don't want CPs in their product, it could still get introduced somewhere along the supply chain: Some manufacturer somewhere might say, Oh, chlorinated paraffins, that's the cheapest way to achieve this function.' And then they don't really tell anyone they've done it," Blum said.

Nobody even knows they're there until scientists take on the extremely challenging task of analyzing the product."

The researchers say their findings point to a need to increase product testing, though how feasible this is given the difficulty of detecting CPs remains to be seen. Blum suggested having Canada require manufacturers to submit analytical tests showing their products have no harmful chemicals before sale.

Given their potential for harm, the fact that (SCCPs) are not necessary and it was determined that they should be phased out," Blum said, it's really kind of shocking that there are so many products still containing them."

Kevin Jiang is a Toronto-based staff reporter for the Star's Express Desk. Follow him on Twitter: @crudelykevin