Is toy clay harmful to the body?

There are many toys for children in modern life, and various toys bring a lot of fun to children’s childhood. However, some toys do pose certain health risks and are invisible harm to children's bodies. For example, it is particularly popular nowadays to give children a kind of clay toy. This toy is made of dyed clay. Let's take a look at whether toy clay is harmful to the body?

The so-called "clay" is not just the "mud" we imagine

The chemical composition and mineral composition of clay determine its basic properties such as plasticity, bonding, thixotropy, shrinkage and sintering. What we often call clay refers to a mixture of various hydrated aluminum silicate minerals with plastic particles smaller than 2 microns. It is formed by weathering of silicate minerals on the earth's surface or through diagenesis. Its main chemical composition is SiO2, Al2O3 and water of crystallization.

Modeling clay is usually a mixture of ordinary clay and bentonite. Its main chemical component is fine particles of hydrated aluminum silicate, but its particle size requirement is not as fine as that of ordinary clay. Modeling clay has good plasticity after absorbing water and has great tensile strength. It can be easily pinched into various delicate shapes and can be shaped by air drying. The finished product has a certain strength and is not easy to crack.

Chemical additives make clay more beautiful, but also more dangerous

The clay components of modeling clay are generally harmless. However, in order to cater to children's preferences and improve the performance of modeling clay, manufacturers will also add dyes, fragrances and other chemical additives to it to make it light, colorful, fragrant and easier to shape. In order to reduce costs, some manufacturers use inferior chemical reagents, which become the main source of harmful substances in modeling clay.

Dyes used for clay are usually inorganic compounds or inorganic minerals, which include harmful heavy metals such as cadmium, chromium, lead, cobalt, and tin. Some heavy metals can enter the human body through the skin. Whether children or adults, if they are exposed to modeling clay containing these harmful heavy metals (or other mobile metal ions) as dyes for a long time, they may experience symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, decreased vision, loss of appetite, etc. At the mildest, it may cause irreversible damage to the organs, bones and major systems of the body.