A committee formed to test toxicity of heavy metals and
phthalates in toys will begin their investigation soon. The 11
member committee formed by the Indian Council for Medical
Research on the behest of the Ministry of Health was formed in
November, 2009 after the Supreme Court ordered the testing of
level of heavy metals in toys. The committee includes members of
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, National Institute of
Occupational Health (Ahmedabad) and National Institute of
Nutrition (Hyderabad). The ICMR has a budget of rupees one crore
for the project. “As of now, the committee has drawn and
finalized the procedures for the tests. Special equipments for
testing toxicity of toys have been bought from Germany,” said B
Dinesh Kumar, assistant director, NIN. The tests will be
conducted on about 2800 samples of toys collected from four
different zones- north, south, east and west. “Samples of most
commonly used toys like dolls, teethers and animal shaped toys
will be taken. The collection will begin in