Crayon makers, government: No evidence of asbestos threat in crayons

More studies planned in response to newspaper report

May 25, 2000
Web posted at: 8:37 a.m. EDT (1237 GMT)

In this story: Debate over risks Authorities not aware of any risks RELATED STORIES, SITES

By Peter Dykstra
CNN Environment & Technology Unit

ATLANTA (CNN) -- Crayon manufacturers have moved to assure the safety of their products, and government agencies have vowed to investigate, after the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported finding levels of asbestos in crayons.

The Post-Intelligencer commissioned independent testing of a total of 40 crayons from three different manufacturers: Crayola, Prang, and Rose Art. Of those tested, 32 showed "more than trace" levels of asbestos, the paper reported.

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Seattle Post-Intelligencer: Major brands of kids' crayons contain asbestos, tests show Crayola: Safety Announcement

The newspaper report seemed to take both the crayon manufacturers and government agencies by surprise, but both groups quickly pointed out that crayons pose little or no health risk.

The newspaper linked the asbestos findings to talc, the powdery mineral substance used to bind the crayon's paraffin wax and colorings.

Binney & Smith, the Pennsylvania-based maker of Crayola crayons, rushed to commission its own testing by a U.S. government-sanctioned lab. The company reported late Tuesday that its tests showed no asbestos in Crayola Crayons.

But company spokeswoman Tracey Muldoon Moran said, "We've already begun a thorough review of the talc used in Crayola crayons. ... If the experts, regulators, and evidence indicate a reason to modify ingredients used in making crayons, we will do so."

The crayons were shown to contain actinolite and tremolite fibers. Both of these forms of asbestos are listed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies as potential predicates to cancer and respiratory diseases.

In many past asbestos controversies, a different type of asbestos, chrysotile, has been the primary culprit. Chrysotile asbestos was the main product used as insulation and fireproofing in buildings and in some textured paints.

Chrysotile asbestos is more brittle, flakier, and far more easily introduced into the air where it can be inhaled. Most uses of chrysotile asbestos were banned in the United States in 1989 or earlier; chrysotile asbestos was until then often mined and sold separately as a fireproofing product.

The actinolite and tremolite fibers cited in the Seattle report are ingredients in talc.

Ronald Dodson, who studies asbestos risks at the University of Texas at Tyler, said that the fibrous (Chrysotile) asbestos would possibly pose a risk, but the types of asbestos reportedly found in crayons would not. Another layer of safety is provided, he said, because the asbestos in crayons is bound in the paraffin wax of the crayons.

Other experts differ, saying that children could be at risk as crayons are sharpened or worn down.

Many government and private health experts insist that there's no reason for any level of potential asbestos exposure in crayons, and that alternatives to talc are available.

The EPA, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the Center for Disease Control's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry all reported that they were taken by surprise by the Seattle story. All vowed to look into possible health risks, but added that they were not aware of any information possibly linking asbestos in crayons to existing health problems.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) database, which monitors potential safety risks to factory workers, reports no risks from airborne asbestos at any of the U.S. factories which produce crayons for Prang, Rose Art, or Crayola.

The CDC and the American Lung Association say that it can take up to 20 years or more for asbestos-related diseases to emerge after exposure to the substance. The most common, asbestosis, is a scarring of lung tissue resulting from hundreds of thousands of asbestos fibers causing microscopic, splinter-like wounds in the lungs.

Prang Crayons, produced in Sandusky, Ohio, by the Dixon-Ticonderoga Company, said regular air monitoring at the Sandusky factory has never revealed any airborne asbestos in the plant. Workers there do not wear protective respiratory equipment, said Prang spokeswoman Jo Carol Walton.

The industry group that monitors product safety, the Art and Creative Industries Institute, also insists that crayons pose no risk, but officials admit that their product testing on crayons does not ordinarily check for asbestos.

The Post-Intelligencer report did not address overseas crayon manufacturers, like Crayola's plants in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. No concerns have yet been raised about asbestos problems there, since those facilities get their talc from another source.

Ironically, Prang switched to using a talc binder in its crayons several years ago, when concerns were raised about possible lead contamination in the clay binders it formerly used.

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The Asbestos Institute
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

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