School's out for summer: The use of safer rubber accelerators in manufacturing children’s toys

Toys and games are vital tools for a child’s learning and development. Every year, more and more toys are released to keep our children engaged when playing indoors with friends or outdoors in playgrounds.

To keep our children safe, there are specific standards in place to ensure that toys are deemed suitable and safe for use. This is done by creating industry standards for manufacturing systems and processes with the aim of improving the safety and quality of toys.

For certain toys made from elastomers, manufacturers have to ensure their product complies with the following standards: BS EN 71:2016 Safety of Toys Standard and BS EN 12868:2017 Child Use and Care Articles Standard for N-Nitrosamines and N-Nitrosatable substances.

Nitrosamines are toxic compounds that can enter the body through ingestion or skin absorption. For this reason, standards have been specifically developed to limit the exposure to nitrosamines or nitrosamine forming compounds.

Robac Technology products Robac AS100 and Robac Arbestab Z are accelerators used to produce rubber toys, and which comply with the BS EN 71:2016 Safety of Toys Standard and BS EN 12868:2017 Child Use and Care Articles Standard for N-Nitrosamines and N-Nitrosatable substances.

As regulations tighten, more rubber article manufacturers wish to identify safer alternatives to traditional rubber accelerators. Robac Technology is capable of providing technical support in rubber accelerators in order to offer bespoke solutions to such challenges. One particular rubber accelerator, Robac AS100, was specifically engineered to be completely consumed during rubber vulcanisation in order to prevent the generation of harmful nitrosamines and zero residue. No residue, no hazard, no risk.

Want to know more? Click here to read our technical papers online.

Click here to learn more about the Robac Technology product range.

About Us
Robac Technology is the rubber accelerators and polymer chemical division of Robinson Brothers. This business sector focuses specifically on chemicals used in dry and wet rubber applications, plus additional polymer additives. Our product portfolio includes nitrosamine-safe accelerators that can be used in a variety of articles, such as toys, automotive components, medical devices and shoe soles.

"We are a member of the British Rubber & Polyurethane Products Association and British Footwear Association"

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Robinson Brothers Limited | West Midlands | B70 0AH UK
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T: +44 (0)121 553 2451
External link: Ranvir Virdi, Boyd Grover, and Kiruan Ghuman (2019) “NITROSAMINE SAFE” THIURAM DISULFIDE. Rubber Chemistry and Technology: January-March 2019, Vol. 92, No. 1, pp. 90-109.