CPSC-CH-C1001-09.3
Standard Operating Procedure for Determination of Phthalates
April 1st, 2010
This document provides detailed information on test methods that will be used by the U.S.
Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) testing laboratory (LSC) for the analysis of
phthalate content in children’s toys and child care articles covered by the standard set forth in
the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act Section 108.
It has been concluded that in order to protect children from the hazard the Act intended to
address, that “concentrations of more than 0.1 percent” must apply per plasticized component
part of a children’s toy or child care article1.
CPSC staff has determined that using an appropriate combination of the methods of
extraction and analysis presented herein is sufficient to determine the concentration of the
six regulated phthalates in most consumer products. Adjustments may be necessary for
products made from certain materials, and should be based on sound chemistry and materials
science knowledge as well as appropriate solvents for the materials. The general approach is
to dissolve the sample completely in tetrahydrofuran, precipitate any PVC polymer with
hexane, filter and then dilute the solution with cyclohexane, and analyze by Gas
Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS).