LABELING

(Updated 06/17/05)

                The OEM Duke Toxicology Program, headed by Woodhall Stopford, MD, MSPH, provides toxicological evaluations of art and crafts materials as defined by the Federal Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials Act (LHAMA) and the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, both administered by the Consumer Product Safety Commission(CPSC).  Such evaluations are conducted in conformance with the American Society of Testing and Materials Practice D-4236, "Labeling of Art Materials for Chronic Health Hazards", and are directed toward compliance with the promulgated product labeling requirements.  The assessment of potential hazard includes both acute and chronic effects of the product and is based upon evaluation of individual ingredients, their level of use and possible interactions.  This assessment, and any resultant labeling, are required for art materials to be sold and imported into the United States.

                On November 18, 1990, the Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials Act (Public Law 100-695) went into effect.  This law amends the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA) to require art and craft materials manufacturers to evaluate their products for their ability to cause chronic illness and to place labels on those that do.  FHSA already required manufacturers to evaluate and label for acute hazards.  The law enacts ASTM D-4236, a standard for evaluating chronic hazards already in use by 85-90% of the art and craft materials manufacturers, and provides for enacting any future revisions to it.  The law requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to develop guidelines for evaluation criteria for toxicologists to use under ASTM D-4236 and to develop and distribute educational information about art materials.  The law requires a statement on the label of a product with a chronic hazard potential that it is inappropriate for children and prohibits the purchase of such an art material for use in grades K-6.

                In addition to the Federal law, seven states - California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Oregon, Tennessee and Virginia- have varying labeling and/or school purchase laws to which manufacturers must comply, and these are all currently in effect.  At the present time, all seven states are accepting most ACMI-certified products for grade 7-12 and most ACMI-certified non-toxic products for grades K-6.  These state laws also provide that an art material is properly labeled if it is in compliance to ASTM D-4236 unless the state deems otherwise.  

               When a product is given a toxicological approval through Duke, it will get either an AP approval, which means that no labeling is required or an CL label, which requires health labeling. If Duke requires health labeling on a product, such labeling must be met within 60 days by submission of the label or proposed label to the Toxicologist for review.  

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