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Asbestos fibres have been found in crayons and
children’s toys sold in the US, according to a new report from a health
advocacy group. The EWG Action Fund is calling for a ban on
asbestos in consumer products after it found the substance in four out of 28 brands
of crayons, according to a report released by the group on Wednesday.
Two brands of toy crime-lab kits of the 21 which
were tested were also reported to have contained the carcinogenic substances.
They had been purchased from ToysRUs.com and Amazon.com. Asbestos was found in
the kits’ fingerprint dusting powders, and these products had higher
concentrations than the tested brand of crayon did.
RT.com report continues:
"We were surprised," report
co-author Sonya Lunder told CBS News. "Crayons and crime-scene toys
were found to have asbestos in years gone by, and the manufacturers of both had
already promised to deal with the problem,” she explained, noting that all
the products that tested positive were manufactured in China.
Breathing in asbestos fibers has been linked to
serious health problems such as lung disease, mesothelioma and other types of
cancer. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that exposure to
asbestos is only dangerous when asbestos is airborne. The fibers are invisible
to the naked eye and are easily inhaled.
A spokeswoman for Toys ‘R’ Us, which distributes
the one of the crime kit toys, responded to the report, saying that safety is
the company's highest priority, CBS reported.
"We require that every product we carry
meets or exceeds all applicable state and federal laws, industry standards,
codes and requirements. At this time, we are reviewing the referenced report,
along with supplier test reports, to ensure full compliance to our strict safety
standards," Kathleen Waugh, vice president of corporate
communications at Toys R' Us, said in a statement.
Asbestos was once a common insulation material
used in buildings, but is now rarely used in the United States and is banned in
many developed nations due to its carcinogenic properties, EWG said.
The EWG Action Fund report does not state the amount of asbestos that
was found in each of the products.
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