Environmental Working Group Calling For Asbestos Ban
Asbestos are supposed to be a thing of the past, considering the damage they can do to you over time. So much work has been done over the years to get asbestos out of houses that it’s incredibly disheartening to hear about them popping up in places you don’t necessarily expect them to. The EWG Action Fund, an organization directly related to the Environmental Working Group, announced that in a new study they found surprisingly large concentrations of asbestos in 4 of the 28 boxes of crayons that they tested, as well as two toy crime lab kits. In light of this news, they are asking for a ban on asbestos in these products for the sake of child safety.
What Crayons Were Affected?
Sonya Lunder, the study’s senior researcher, urged people to remember despite only naming 4 boxes, it’s possible for asbestos to be in any product. Still, looking at the names of the crayons, the takeaway seems to be that if your child wants crayons with famous characters on the box, maybe think twice. In addition to finding asbestos in Amscan Crayons that were bought at Party City, they were also detected in a number of boxes found at Dollar Tree: Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Crayons, Saban’s Power Rangers Super Megaforce, and Disney’s Mickey Mouse Clubhouse boxes. So Crayola aficionados can breathe easy – it actually promised back in 2000 to rid its product of asbestos, and according to the EWG Action Fund kept that promise, making it all the more disappointing to find it in other products now.
The crime lab kits that had asbestos found in them were the Edu Science Deluxe Forensics Lab Kit and the Inside Intelligence Secret Spy Kit, found respectively on Toys R Us and Amazon. The asbestos findings here were due to the fingerprint powders in each, with a dangerous 1% concentration. This is particularly dangerous, as powder can become airborne very easily, and asbestos is most dangerous when breathed in and finding its way into your lungs.
How Did The Crayons get Asbestos In Them?
The asbestos found in these products was almost certainly a result of the talc used in all of them, as asbestos can easily be found in talc mines. Talc can be used as a binding agent in crayons and powders. Of course, with so many other options that are frequently used by other companies that don’t contain traces of asbestos, why this was still being used remains a mystery. The moral here? Stick to Crayola and other safe brands.
