Statement by The Art & Creative Materials Institute
On Sidewalk Chalk Safety
By Deborah M. Fanning, CAE, Executive Vice President
ACMI-Certified Sidewalk Chalks are Safe
BOSTON, December 2, 2003 – "All of the sidewalk chalks in the ACMI Certification Program are safe and do not present any health hazard to children from lead," said Deborah M. Fanning, Executive Vice President of The Art & Creative Materials Institute, Inc. (ACMI). ACMI has been working with the Wisconsin Consumer Protection Agency since learning of a recent incident involving sidewalk chalk contaminated with lead, allegedly implicated in a childhood lead-poisoning incident. In two separate press releases dated November 13, 2003 and November 24, 2003, CPSC announced recalls of the sidewalk chalk in question, reporting that the product was manufactured by Agglo Corporation of Hong Kong and sold under the brand names “Double Dipp'n Fun” and “Totally Me! Chalk To Go” and was imported by Target Corporation and Toys R Us, Inc.
"All children's products in the ACMI Certification Program are tested for lead as a requirement for ACMI certification," said Mrs. Fanning. "It is important that the public understand that ACMI-certified sidewalk chalks are safe and their children are safe in using them."
Woodhall Stopford, MD, MSPH, ACMI's principal consulting toxicologist with the Duke University Medical Center, provided information on the ACMI program's lead criteria and manufacturers' lead test results to Wisconsin officials.
Manufacturers of sidewalk chalk in the ACMI Certification Program include:
Binney & Smith, Inc. (Crayola brand)
Dixon Ticonderoga Co. (Prang brand)
Rose Art Industries, Inc. (Rose Art brand).
Consumers can access the entire database of products certified by ACMI and other safety information on our website www.acminet.org.
Why ACMI’s Certification Program is an Effective Safeguard
"Once again, ACMI's Certification program has proven to be protective of children's health in connection with the use of art material products," Fanning said.
Since 1940, ACMI has sponsored a certification program for children’s art materials, certifying that these products are non-toxic and meet voluntary standards of quality and performance. Today, the toxicology portion of that program is directed by Woodhall Stopford, MD, MSPH, of Duke University Medical Center Occupational Health Service. ACMI’s Toxicological Advisory Board consists of Elaina Kenyon of the Environmental Protection Agency, James C. Lamb, PhD, DABT of The Weinberg Group, John H. Mennear, PhD, Consultant Scientist in Pharmacology & Toxicology, and Thomas B. Starr, PhD, Principal, ENVIRON International Corp.
The toxicology program must approve every formula of every color of every product and must approve every formula change. Safety is the only consideration. Indeed, the program has banned previously approved ingredients and established restrictions when new developments have occurred. ACMI’s certification program takes extra precautions to ensure that children’s art supplies are safe for kids.
Parents, educators and others are urged to read the labels on sidewalk chalks and other art products to better understand if they have been evaluated by ACMI and if they are non-toxic. Art materials that have been evaluated by ACMI will bear one of the ACMI seals:
Art materials that have been evaluated as non-toxic should bear the statement "Conforms to ASTM D 4236" and should have no hazard information or safe-use instructions on the label. All ACMI-certified art materials meant for children cannot bear hazard information, must be non-toxic, and will bear the ACMI AP OR CP Seals with the ASTM D 4236 conformance statement.
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The Art & Creative Materials Institute, Inc. is an international trade association and the leading authority on art and creative materials. ACMI’s more than 200 members are art and creative materials manufacturers. Since its inception, ACMI’s certification program has certified that products in the program are either non-toxic or appropriately labeled with cautionary language and safe use instructions.