Microscopic asbestos fibers have been linked to serious health problems including lung disease, lung cancer and mesothelioma.
Advertisement
The tests were carried out during February and May 2015. Two of the 21 kits tested positive for asbestos. But, according to new research from the Environmental Working Group Action Fund some of these toys have been found to contain the well-established carcinogen, asbestos. The crayons were in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and Power Rangers packaging.
The two tainted fingerprint kits were EduScience Delux Forensics Lab Kit and Inside Intelligence Secret Spy Kit. In the toy crime-lab kits, the fingerprint powder was the source of the asbestos.
The other companies involved have yet to respond to requests for comments.
The toy crime kits contained black and/or white finger print powder. Sens. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Dick Durbin (D-IL), who have introduced legislation to make information about asbestos more transparent to USA consumers, said in a statement this week that the CPSC should issue an updated rule on the substance. Samples that tested positive were sent to a second, unidentified analytical laboratory for verification.
The National Cancer Institute indicates that USA manufacturers of crayons agreed to eliminate talc from their products since talc is the asbestos-containing culprit. It is a fairly common occurrence, as asbestos and talc are often found in the same geological formations.
There have been no documented cases of people becoming ill from asbestos in crayons or toys, although asbestos has been found in crayons from Crayola and Prang in the past. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) now has no explicit ban on asbestos in crayons, and the almost four-decade-old Toxic Substance Control Act relies on a high burden of evidence for regulation that has so far prevented the federal government from outlawing asbestos altogether.
Advertisement
“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”, said Dr Philip Landrigan, asbestos expert and professor of paediatrics and preventive medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital.
