Four brands of crayons and two crime scene kits came back positive with trace elements of the substance – even though toy manufacturers have previously promised to make sure their products are free from the potentially harmful material. Over time, an accumulation of asbestos fibers can cause inflammation and scarring, and increase the risk of lung cancer and mesothelioma.
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So here’s the deal: the EWG Action Fund (an investigative organization related to the Environmental Working Group), commissioned asbestos tests for some children’s products. Two of the 21 kits tested positive for asbestos.
Toys “R” Us, which makes one of the forensics lab kits, told Time Magazine the company was “reviewing the referenced report, along with supplier test reports, to ensure full compliance to our strict safety standards”. According to CNN, the affected brands include: Amscan Crayons purchased at Party City; and Disney Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Crayons and Saban’s Power Rangers Super Megaforce boxes purchased at Dollar Tree.
The toy crime kits contained black and/or white finger print powder. “There’s not enough information about where asbestos might be found”. In fact, I was relieved to note that the brands of crayons that I buy for my own kids-generally Crayola, or Lakeshore Learning-were confirmed as lacking asbestos.
A spokesperson from the EGW Action Fund said: “Scientific Analytical Institute of Greensboro, NC, tested the products for asbestos using transmission electron microscopy, or TEM, the most precise method available”. Asbestos is often found alongside talc deposits when talc is mined.
Asbestos was found in the same kinds of toys in 2000 and 2007.
When you give a child crayons to color with or a crime-scene fingerprinting set to nurture his or her inner investigator, the last thing you probably consider is that these toys may be harming the child.
The Environmental Working Group is calling for a ban on the carcinogen in consumer products.
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According to the EWG Action Fund’s report, federal regulators have been aware of the presence of asbestos in children’s toys since at least 2000.
