Brussels - Toymakers were reeling after the European Parliament endorsed a permanent ban on phthalates, a family of chemicals used to soften some toys and child-care products made out of polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, a widely used plastic.
In a development that is likely to alarm chemical companies and manufacturers, the bill also calls for an assessment by the European Commission of the use of such chemicals in other products like medical devices, flooring and food wrapping, paving the way for further possible bans.
Hiltrud Breyer, a member of the parliament's Green faction said: "If industry wants to be as responsible as it claims to be, it should stop using soft PVC altogether."
As expected, the vote in the parliament's plenary session in Strasbourg extends existing temporary bans to a broader range of products and will apply to products made within the 25-member European Union as well as imports.
The Commission, which drafted the bill, has said the phthalates released when children put certain products in their mouths are dangerous and may lead to liver, kidney and testicular damage.
EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, Markos Kyprianou, said: "Toxic chemicals have no place in children's toys."
But the scientific basis for the ban has been contentious, with some scientists and phthalates makers arguing they pose no health risk.
Toy Industries of Europe, TIE, an industry group representing companies such as Hasbro Inc, Lego Group and Mattel Inc, said the broader ban will create uncertainty over how to source materials in the future.
Teemu Lehtinen, TIE's senior adviser said: "What criteria can we use to determine that substitute chemicals will not be challenged on health and environmental grounds in the future."
The European Chemicals Bureau said in a risk assessment carried out in 2003 that no restrictions were needed on DINP, the most commonly-used phthalate in toys.
Lehtinen said substituting DINP with another chemical called citrate, as suggested by some parliamentarians, would increase manufacturers' costs significantly.
Lehtinen said: "Citrate is up to three times more expensive. Moreover, it hasn't gone through as an extensive testing program as DINP. When substitutes are used, new tests would be needed to ensure that toys don't crack or break."
Five years ago the EU adopted a three-month renewable ban on toys and other products such as pacifiers containing certain phthalates, if they could be put into the mouth or were designed for oral use by children under the age of 3.
The ban has been renewed since then.
In addition to making the ban permanent, the legislation would outlaw the use of the three phthalates considered most dangerous by the commission in all toys and child-care items that could be placed in the mouth regardless of use.
Monika Colle, a spokesperson for ZAPF Creation AG, a German doll maker, said it was unclear how many of the company's products would be affected.
Colle said: "What does products that can be put into the mouth really mean?" Manufacturers will have to draw up product lists for review by the European Commission, she said.
Environmental groups have been battling for the bill for the last eight years.