establish regulations which specify the tests and criteria manufacturers must use to determine if their products pose chronic hazards. The CPSC has never conducted a regulatory proceeding to determine whether a specific art and craft material should be labeled or banned because it poses chronic hazards, nor has the CPSC initiated proceedings to establish tests and criteria for chronic toxicity. The Commission has, however, made hazard determinations for specific substances which may be contained in art products. For example, the CPSC has determined through rulemaking that the following substances are hazardous based on human experience, and therefore, the Commission requires hazard warning labels on products which contain a specified amount of these substances. Many of these substances are often found in art materials: 1) diethylene glycol; 2) ethylene glycol; 3) benzene, toluene, xylene, or petroleum distillates such as kerosene, mineral seal oil, naptha, gasoline, mineral spirits, stoddard solvent and related petroleum distillates; 4) methyl alcohol; and 5) turpentine. In addition, the CPSC has issued regulations under the Consumer Product Safety Act and the FHSA to regulate and ban certain consumer products which contain lead and asbestos - two of the most hazardous substances that are found in art and craft materials. The lead regulations, however, specifically exclude from their scope "artists' paints and related materials." Likewise, the CPSC's labeling regulations for asbestos apply only to products to which asbestos has been intentionally added. This means that the regulations do not apply to clays and talcs which contain naturally-occurring asbestos and are used as art materials by artists, hobbyists and children. The CPSC also has initiated a rulemaking to determine whether methylene chloride, which is contained in some paint strippers and spray paints, is a hazardous substance under the FHSA. Although this issue was brought to the attention of the CPSC in September, 1984, the current proceeding was not begun until August, 1986. The staff of the Commission is currently assessing the public comments and conducting risk assessments for each product that would be affected. Their decision is due to be submitted to the Commissioners in June of this year, but no date has been set for a final Commission determination. 1 As the foregoing makes clear, although the CPSC has the authority to regulate art and craft products that pose chronic hazards, they must accomplish this either through separate rulemaking proceedings or by establishing tests and criteria for chronic toxicity. To date, the Commission has chosen to initiate and complete rulemaking proceedings for only a small handful of the hundreds of hazardous substances that are contained in art materials. Furthermore, even where the CPSC has acted to require labeling of a chronically-hazardous substance under the FHSA, the labels that are required do not adequately convey to the user the dangers associated with the substance. For example, benzene is a cancer agent, which has been linked to bone marrow damage and blood dyscrasias. Under FHSA regulations, a product which contains 5 percent or more by weight of benzene must be labeled with the following: DANGER: Vapor harmful. Poison. (Picture of skull and crossbones) KEEP OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN This language does not inform consumers of the long-term hazards, such as cancer, that may result from exposure to the product, nor does it include instructions on how to use the product safely. In light of the extreme potential dangers of benzene, this label is wholly inadequate as a health warning for consumers, artists and children. Under the comprehensive scheme for labeling chronicallyhazardous art materials that we propose, a product which contains 5 percent or more by weight of benzene would be labeled with the following: WARNING: CANCER AGENT! EXPOSURE MAY PRODUCE CANCER. MAY BE HARMFUL Use NIOSH-certified respirator with an organic vapor cartridge or use in fully enclosed local exhausting hood. Wear vinyl or latex gloves and coveralls. Do not eat, drink or smoke while using. Wash hands immediately after use. KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN. For further health information contact your poison control center. VOLUNTARY STANDARD At the conclusion of the 1980 hearings on chronic hazards of art supplies, Rep. Fred Richmond, the sponsor of the legislation, issued the following directive to the art and craft materials industry: So, "We are not adequately protecting the health and well-being of artists in the United States. There are 54 million people involved in the arts in the United States. There are a lot of consumers. we all agree something has to be done. Let's start working together. As Chairman Scheuer said, let's work informally to see if we can develop material directed to the consumer, not to industry, but to the consumer, legible, simple material that will tell the consumers, the 54 million consumers, exactly what Chairman Scheuer said: What is in this product, what should be avoided, how it should be used, and what to do if it is ingested, inhaled or absorbed." That statement began a process in which art material manufacturers, artists, government officials and scientists, under the guidance of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), developed a voluntary consensus standard for the labeling of chronically toxic ingredients in art supplies. ASTM adopted this standard, number D-4236, in March, 1983. (See Appendix D for the latest version of the standard.) Labels began appearing on art and craft products in 1985. The voluntary standard works in the following way: Art and craft material manufacturers submit their products for evaluation by a certified toxicologist. The toxicologist evaluates the products to determine if they have the potential for producing chronic adverse health effects under customary or reasonably foreseeable use. The standard establishes responsibilities for participating manufacturers which include: submitting product formulations to a toxicologist for review; adopting precautionary labeling suggested by the toxicologist and in accordance with statements listed in the standard; supplying a poison control center with formulation information; and having their products and labels reviewed periodically to ensure they conform with the most current scientific knowledge. (See Appendix D, section 3.) The standard also establishes considerations that toxicologists must take into account when determining whether an art material has the potential for producing chronic adverse health effects. These include: current chemical composition of the art material; current generally accepted, well-established scientific knowledge; physical and chemical form of the product, bioavailability, concentration and amount of toxic components; reasonably foreseeable uses; potential for synergism and antagonism of components; potential adverse health effects of decomposition or combustion; and opinions of various regulatory agencies and scientific bodies. (See Appendix D, section 4.) |