Determination of the Banned Phthalates in PVC Plastic of Toys by the Soxhlet Extraction-Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry Method

A Gas Chromatography/ Mass Spectrometry method for the determination of six phthalates which are banned by European Union Regulation and USA CPSIA, in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) toys is studied in this article. The samples were extracted in six hours by Soxhlet extractor when using dichloromethane as the extracting agent, researched by orthogonal experiment. Using TIC (total ion chromatogram) and SIM (select ion monitor) of GC-MS to achieve phthalate’s qualitative and quantitative determination, of which detection limit, accuracy and operating procedure are better than the standards in EN 14372:2004 clause 6.3.2 and ASTM D7083-04.