For Immediate Release: July 8, 2015
Investigation Finds Asbestos Fibers in Crayons and Toys from China
Asbestos Remains a Threat to Consumer Safety and Public Health
Washington DC – July 8, 2015 – The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO), which combines education, advocacy, and community to prevent exposure and ensure justice for asbestos victims, is outraged by the recent Environmental Working Group (EWG) Action Fund findings that identified asbestos, a known carcinogen, in children’s toys and crayons.
In 2000, the Seattle Post Intelligencer confirmed that asbestos had been found in crayons. Seven years later, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) confirmed asbestos in five consumer products, including a child’s toy. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) were hand-delivered full reports, but no action was taken. A new investigation by the EWG Action Fund has once again found asbestos in children’s crayons and toys. Asbestos was found in four of the 28 boxes of crayons and two of the 21 kids’ fingerprinting kits purchased online and at store.
“We are outraged by the findings from the EWG Action Fund’s Asbestos Nation investigation. For more than a century, asbestos has been known to cause diseases,” said Linda Reinstein, mesothelioma widow and ADAO President and Co-Founder. “Since asbestos was found in children’s crayons in 2000, an estimated 150,000 Americans have died from preventable asbestos-caused disease and the USA has consumed more than 55,000 metric tons of asbestos. This killer chemical has caused one of the largest manmade disasters in history, yet imports continue.”
“It is a travesty that our 2007 revelation of asbestos in children’s toys and other household products has had no lasting effect on regulation of asbestos,” said Paul Zygielbaum, a mesothelioma patient and the 2007 ADAO Product Testing Manager. “Congress should enact a full, effective ban on trade in asbestos in the U.S., including both ingredients and significant contaminants, along with the infrastructure for effective, mandatory product testing and punishment of those companies that have the callousness to continue to poison Americans, especially children.”
The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization urges:
- The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to ban asbestos-containing products.
- Congress to pass Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reform legislation naming asbestos and ensuring that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can expeditious review and take action to ban this toxic chemical.
- Congress to pass the Reducing Exposure to Asbestos Database (READ) Act to provide Americans with transparent, accessible, and current information about known locations of asbestos-containing products.
“Enough is enough,” said Reinstein. “Since 2000, Congress has wasted time and taxpayers’ money on 18 special interest bills to reduce the asbestos industry’s liability at the sacrifice of American’s civil rights. The time is now for Congress to focus on protecting public health and consumer safety. ADAO believes that a ban on all asbestos-containing products is fully justified, absolutely necessary, and long overdue. One life lost to an asbestos-caused disease is tragic; hundreds of thousands of lives lost is unconscionable.”
Despite its known dangers, asbestos remains legal and lethal in the USA and imports continue. Exposure to asbestos can cause mesothelioma, lung, gastrointestinal, laryngeal, and ovarian cancers; as well as non-malignant lung and pleural disorders. The World Health Organization estimates that 107,000 workers around the world will die every year of an asbestos-related disease, equaling 300 deaths per day.
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About the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization
The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) was founded by asbestos victims and their families in 2004. ADAO is the largest non-profit in the U.S. dedicated to providing asbestos victims and concerned citizens with a united voice through our education, advocacy, and community initiatives. ADAO seeks to raise public awareness about the dangers of asbestos exposure, advocate for an asbestos ban, and protect asbestos victims’ civil rights. For more information, visit www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org. ADAO, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, does not make legal referrals.
Media Contact:
Kim Cecchini
Media Relations
Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO)
(202) 391-5205
Kim@asbestosdiseaseawareness.org