Washington, D.C. (July 8, 2015)– EWG Action Fund today called on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to “investigate asbestos contamination in children’s crayons and toys and take all necessary precautions to protect children from the dangers of asbestos exposure.”

In a letter to CPSC chairman Elliot F. Kaye, Heather White, representing EWG Action Fund, wrote that tests commissioned by EWG Action Fund and conducted by an independent government-certified laboratory, using the most sensitive instruments available, discovered deadly asbestos fibers in some children’s crayons and toy crime scene investigation kits.

The “CPSC has known for more than a decade that asbestos-contaminated talc may be present in crayons,” White wrote. “CPSC’s request [to the toy industry] for voluntary action thus has not resolved the problem, and asbestos continues to contaminate

children’s crayons sold in the U.S….Similarly, CPSC has known since 2007 of the presence of asbestos in toy crime scene kits but has declined to take action to regulate this carcinogen.”

She urged the CSPC chairman to investigate crayons and other toys for possible asbestos and to order toy companies to stop using talc that might be contaminated with asbestos in children’s products.

You can read the letter here.

EWG Action Fund’s statement about the tests discovering asbestos contamination in crayons and toys can be found here.

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EWG Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) organization that is a separate sister organization of the Environmental Working Group. The mission of EWG Action Fund is to protect health and the environment by educating the public and lobbying on a wide range of environmental issues. Donations to EWG Action Fund are not tax-deductible.