THE ART AND CREATIVE MATERIALS INSTITUTE
(Last updated 04/02/11)
The Art and Creative Materials Institute, Inc. (formerly The Crayon, Water
Color and Craft Institute Inc.) has, since the 1940’s, sponsored a
certification program for children’s art materials. The original program
served two purposes: (1) to certify to school officials and others that art
materials in the program were non-toxic and (2) to certify that art materials
met certain standards of quality and performance.
In response to the challenge to professional and adult art material
manufacturers to assure that their products were either labeled as non-toxic or
appropriately labeled to warn users of the health hazards associated with their
use, The Art and Creative Materials Institute, Inc. (ACMI) re-organized in 1982
and now affords all manufacturers of art and craft materials the opportunity to
participate in its programs. Dr. Woodhall Stopford, MD, MSPH, Director of the Division of Occupational and
Environmental Medicine Toxicology Program at Duke University Medical Center,
serves as the consulting toxicologist for ACMI. He reviews formulas of all
products included within the certification program. In addition, ACMI has a
Toxicological Advisory Board composed of three eminent toxicologists to act as a
review board on questions of toxicity. ACMI, along with art material manufacturers and others, was instrumental in
the development of ASTM D 4236, the voluntary standard for chronic health hazard
labeling, which was first published in 1983. In 1988, the Labeling of Hazardous
Art Materials Act (LHAMA) was enacted by Congress as an amendment to the Federal
Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA) to become effective in 1990. In 1992, the
Consumer Product Safety Commission(CPSC) published regulations encoding ASTM D
4236, as changed by LHAMA, as a federal regulation. ACMI is also engaged in drafting standards of product performance for
products included in the scope of ACMI. Members of the Certification Committee
include representatives of manufacturers, The National Art Education
Association, the Association of School Business Officials and Artists Equity
Association. ACMI STAFF Deborah M. Fanning, CAE, Executive Vice President Deborah S. Gustafson, Associate Director Debbie Munroe, Certification Director Rebecca Beaudoin, Staff Specialist For More information about The Art and Creative Materials Institute, visit
their web site at:
Questions? (919)286-5744 E:mail: rourk003@mc.duke.edu © 2007 Duke University Medical Center P.O. Box 3834 DUMC, Durham, N.C. 27710 USA 
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