Four brands of children’s crayons and two kids’ crime scene fingerprint kits were found to contain asbestos, according a report released Wednesday.
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And it’s certainly not something that we would imagine would still be in consumer products, especially those that are targeted to children, so it might come as some surprise that a common childhood item such as crayons could be the source of a cancer-causing material.
Traces of asbestos have been found in crayons and other toys sold in the United States, a recent investigation by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) revealed.
The offending products were manufactured in China and imported into the U.S. The crayons of concern were: Amscan Crayons, Disney Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Crayons, Power Rangers Super Megaforce.
The two toy crime lab kits with contaminants included the black fingerprint powder in the Edu Science Deluxe Forensics Lab Kit, purchased at ToysRUs.com, and the white fingerprint powder from the Inside Intelligence Secret Spy kit, purchased on Amazon.com.
EWG hired an independent company, Scientific Analytical Institute from Greensboro, N.C., to conduct so-called transmission electron microscopy tests to look for asbestos.
“It is a travesty that our 2007 revelation of asbestos in children’s toys and other household products has had no lasting effect on regulation of asbestos”, said Paul Zygielbaum, a mesothelioma patient and the 2007 ADAO Product Testing Manager. To add to this, Scott Wolfson, communications director at the U.S. Product Safety Commission, told Environmental Health News that the US government is taking the finding “very seriously”.
Asbestos is more commonly used in building materials such as insulation and shingles, as it is resistant to heat and fire and doesn’t readily degrade. In 2000 the Seattle Post Intelligencer newspaper had crayons tested and found asbestos in three popular brands.
Health experts say there is no safe level of exposure to asbestos. None of the asbestos-containing products listed talc on their labels either.
Asbestos exposure kills up to 15,000 Americans a year – and more than 100,000 worldwide. Asbestos contamination comes from talc used in the crayons.
Starting in the 1970s, asbestos bans began in certain products because the mineral was a known human carcinogen. “At this time, we are reviewing the referenced report, along with supplier test reports, to ensure full compliance to our strict safety standards”. The tests were commissioned by the EWG Action Fund and reconfirmed by a second laboratory.
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The amount of asbestos in the crayon was described as “so small it is scientifically insignificant”. “And for kids that risk is nearly certainly greater”.
