You would think it would take a sociopath to put
rel="tag" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos">asbestos
in a children's toy. You'd be right. Yet, it has
happened. Stranger yet, Canada has adopted legislation that
explicitly permits this.
Asbestos became infamous when it was linked to
href="http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec05/ch057/ch057c.html#sec05-ch057-ch057c-1022"
rel="tag">mesothelioma, an otherwise rare form of
cancer affecting the lining of the lung cavity. It is
considered to be incurable. It takes an average of thirty
years to show up, after exposure to asbestos. The link
between asbestos and mesothelioma caused huge financial exposure for
href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/03/national/main664479.shtml"
rel="tag">Halliburton despite the valiant efforts
its subsidiary, the
href="http://www.halliburtonwatch.org/about_hal/asbestos.html">US
Government.
The asbestos-in-toys story was first reported, as far as I can tell, by
the
href="http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/341381_asbestos28.html">Seattle
Post-Intelligencer. It was discovered, not by any
US agency, but by a citizen's advocacy group: the
href="http://www.asbestosdiseaseawareness.org/">Asbestos
Disease Awareness Organization [press release here (PDF)]. I first saw the
report on the public health blog,
href="http://thepumphandle.wordpress.com/2007/11/29/latest-toy-hazard/">The
Pump Handle. Others have written about it at
href="http://consumerist.com/consumer/safety/asbestos-found-in-several-products-327639.php">The
Consumerist,
href="http://blogs.usatoday.com/techspace/2007/11/the-olympics-an.html">Tech
Space,
href="http://www.nowpublic.com/culture/christmas-toy-csi-toy-kit-asbestos-warning">Now
Public, and
href="http://ahugle.blogspot.com/2007/11/another-dangerous-toy-warning-from-pump.html">A
Hugle.
Here's part of the Seattle PI article:
href="http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/341381_asbestos28.html">Asbestos
turns up in toys, children's clay
DIYers who use duct tape, spackle, roof sealer also at risk
of exposure
By ANDREW SCHNEIDER
P-I SENIOR CORRESPONDENT
Asbestos has been found in a variety of
consumer products, including one of this season's biggest-selling
Christmas toys, according to the nation's largest asbestos victims
organizations.
The CSI Fingerprint Examination Kit, two brands of children's play
clay, powdered cleanser, roof sealers, duct tapes, window glazing,
spackling paste and small appliances were among the products in which
asbestos was found by at least two of three labs hired by the Asbestos
Disease Awareness Organization.
The group, which was created in 2004 by asbestos victims and their
families, spent more than $165,000 to have government-certified
laboratories examine hundreds of consumer products over 18 months to
determine whether asbestos was present.
It is unusual for a group of volunteers, many of whom have
asbestos-caused diseases, to fund research that impacts public health.
"We had to. No one else was doing it," said Linda Reinstein, the
group's co-founder and executive director. "This is information that
consumers and Congress must have because asbestos is lethal and we
naively believe that the government is protecting us, when it's not."
...
There is a special problem with the fingerprint kit. Asbestos
is most hazardous when it is inhaled as a powder. The
asbestos in the fingerprint kit is in a powder, which is placed over
the area of the fingerprint, then brushed off with a soft brush.
This, of course, puts it in the air. Curious kids
are likely to have their faces right up close to the area in which they
are working.
From a corporate point of view, this all makes perfect sense.
It will take thirty years for any problems to show up.
By then, the link to the product will be have to remember,
much less prove. Plus, all the profits and executive bonuses
will already be spent by then.
All that is what we have come to expect in the USA. But what
about the situation is Canada? That is perhaps the strangest
aspect to this whole story. As noted on the [Canadian] New
Democratic Party's website:
href="http://www.ndp.ca/page/4949">New regulations allow
asbestos in toys
Thu 1 Mar 2007
OTTAWA – Today, new regulations on the use of
asbestos were condemned by NDP MP’s Pat Martin (Winnipeg
Centre) and Catherine Bell (Vancouver Island North).
New regulations introduced by the Conservatives
specifically cite that: “…a person may advertise,
sell, or import an asbestos product… that is used by a child
in learning or play.”
“You’d have to be crazy to put
asbestos in children’s toys,” said Martin.
“The rest of the world is banning asbestos in all its forms
and Canada is actively seeking out new markets and applications. It
defies reason.”
Martin and Bell were joined by toy puppets,
‘Toxic Timmy’ and ‘Ms
O’Thelioma’ in making the case that putting toxic
carcinogens into children’s toys and playthings is a
spectacularly bad idea and shows an appalling lack of judgment on the
part of this Conservative government.
“What’s even more absurd is that the
Canadian government is spending a fortune subsidizing and promoting
this deadly material,” said Bell.
Canada has a national health care plan. This is sensible,
because it gives the Government a financial incentive to avoid
craziness like this. A government should
have an incentive to protect its people. Protecting the
people from threat, foreign and domestic, is one of the primary
functions of government. Financial incentives tend to work.
But not in this case. Apparently, the lure of
quick, dirty profit has overtaken the risk of
long-term costs. The fact that the profit is small, relative
to the cost, seems to not matter.
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The Canadian legislation was presumably a sop to Quebec mining interests. The largest asbestos mines in the western hemisphere are in southern Quebec, between the St. Lawrence and northern New England.
No matter what, it still pure idiocy to deliberately enable exposing kids to asbestos in any form.
To be honest, I need to see some more detailed information before jumping.
Remember that 'asbestos' is a trade term, not a mineralogical one. Chrysotile is one mineral that has an asbestiform habit, but on occasion some varieties of amphibole do as well (in fact, it is the asbestiform amphiboles that are most strongly liked with lung cancer and mesothelioma).
However, most amphiboles do not have asbestiform habits, and there have been cases where people have concluded that since some amphiboles are asbestiform, all amphiboles are toxic.
So the question should be, what are the mineral powders in question - are they actual chrysotile or asbestiform amphibole powders, powdered talc with trace amounts of chrysotile, or simply powdered rock that originally contained some amphiboles?
And your conclusion ("fact") doesn't offend your sense of rational probability enough to look beyond a blurb on the website of the NDP, a party which is no stranger to hyperbole?
The item is dated 9 months ago. I'm in Canada, and there has been little if any outcry about this.
I don't know the underlying truth here, but I would also wonder along with NJ about a slanted use of the term "asbestos."
Federal governments being accused (sometimes justifiably) of leaning toward Quebec interests is a recurrent theme in Canada, but stating that the government is composed of sociopaths just weakens any worthwhile point you might have dreadfully.
NJ: I agree that more information would be better, but note that the PDF press release from ADOA contains a statement from the Dr. Harbut, co-direcor of the Karmanos Cancer Institute's National Center for Vermiculite and Asbestos-Related Cancers. He appears to be concerned.
Also, I can't claim to have done a thorough literature review, but I did find this:
I think in the context of toys, it is important to consider the risk-benefit balance. My opinion is that no asbestos of any sort is tolerable, because there are lots of toys, and there is no particular redeeming quality to this particular toy.
Scott: Sociopaths can be found in any government, in any political party. If there are some scientists who believe that all forms of asbestos are hazardous, then asbestos does not belong in toys. Period.
Right. And there are some scientists who believe that humans are not affecting global warming, so we can all relax. Period.
One of the known problems about the earlier work on asbestos epidemiology was the inability to distinguish the different types of fibers used; most of the asbestiform materials used were obtained from multiple sources so there were unknown levels of mixing of chrysotile and amphibole types.
Chrysotile was later discovered to be relatively soluble in lung fluids with an estimated lifetime of 9 months:
Hume, A. H., and D. Rimstidt. 'The Biodurability of Chrysotile Asbestos." American Mineralogist 77 (1992): 1125-1128.
so this greatly limits its ability to have long term effects.
Obligatory flame-retardant: Note that I am not trying to claim that chrysotile or any asbestiform material is not potentially hazardous, or that potentially (or perceived) hazardous materials should be used in toys. I just want to make sure we stay on a factual basis on this topic, having suffered through an unfounded asbestos hysteria previously.
As I understand it, there are at least 11 types of asbestos identified. The US only has toxicity statistics on the few (3 or 4?) most used industrially here. The others may be completely innocuous, or much worse. Details matter.
What was this "unfounded asbestos hysteria"? I'm with Joseph: in the absence of definitive information, asbestos doesn't belong in toys. The burden of proof should be on vendors, not on parents.
Nathan,
The unfounded asbestos hysteria story - While I was in grad school, it was noted that some of the ceiling insulation was falling off in some rooms, and at least one stairwell. We were told at a meeting that the material had been sent for testing and discovered to be up to 20% asbestos. Much panic and anger ensued, and a number of areas of the building were cordoned off.
Being enterprising mineralogy Ph.D students at a major US research school (VT), we decided to analyze the material ourselves. We collected about a kilogram of the drooping insulation and added dilute HCl to see if calcite was present.
Fizzz. Net remainder was about 600 grams. A colleague took samples for optical analysis. Mostly fine-grained material with perhaps one fibrous grain that could be asbestos. More samples given to me for powder X-ray diffractometry. The result? 100% (+ or - 1 to 5%) gypsum.
Although the asbestos testing firm was statutorily prevented from doing the remediation, it appeared to us that an "I'll scratch yours if you scratch mine" mentality existed in that business, one that took advantage of the fact that the word 'asbestos' was then the equivalent of the boogeyman.
I would agree - asbestiform minerals don't belong in toys, and that the burden of proof belongs with vendors. But, as you noted, details matter. And a few cleavage fragments of regular old tremolite or hornblende does not constitute asbestos contamination nor a reason to hit the panic button.