“We were surprised,” report co-author Sonya Lunder, a senior analyst with the Washington, D.C.-based group, told U.S. News & World Report. The asbestos was probably a contaminant of talc, which can be used as a binding agent in the crayons and in powder in the toy crime lab kits.
Advertisement
The amounts of asbestos in the stated products were not really high, but according to Dr. Philip Landrigan, professor of pediatrics and preventive medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, “Asbestos in toys poses an unacceptable risk to children, today as it did in 2000 and 2007, the last time tests found the deadly substance in these children’s products”.
Health officials and retailers have been concerned since asbestos contamination was spotted in several brands of crayons dating back to 2000. The tiny-nearly invisible-fibers float through the air and can be easily inhaled, resulting in scarring, inflammation, and breathing impairment over time.
Significant exposure to asbestos has been linked to life-threatening lung diseases, including lung cancer.
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. It is banned in almost all other developed nations, the research group said.
The crayons were bought earlier this year from February to May at Party City and Dollar Tree, in a county near San Francisco.
The crayon brands that tested positive included Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Crayons, Disney’s Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Jumbo Crayons and Saban’s Power Rangers Super Megaforce Jumbo Crayons and ones by Amscan.
Crime scene fingerprint kits were also tested and two of the 21 were found to contain asbestos. The tests were commissioned by the EWG Action Fund and reconfirmed by a second laboratory.
Paulson, who is not affiliated with the report, said that powder from the crime lab kits was of particular concern.
Lunder said that up to one million microscopic fibers of asbestos were found in just a single crayon or sample of crime-scene powder. Frighteningly, symptoms don’t manifest right away; it will be much later that a person is diagnosed with this type of lung disease, which is only caused by asbestos.
Ex- U.S. Assistant Surgeon General Richard Lemen welcomed the report.
The authors of the report say they were shocked by the findings.
Another expert, Christopher Weis, notes, “This is definitely not a frivolous or trivial concern”.
Advertisement
The Environmental Protection Agency says exposure to asbestos only occurs when the material is disturbed and becomes airborne.
