CSI Fingerprint reported to contain asbestos powder
Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive December 2007:
CSI Fingerprint reported to contain asbestos powder
Haven't tracked this further, but according to my local all-news station, KYW, the CSI Fingerprint Kit toy contains abestos powder. (And - surprise, surprise - probably made in China.)
December 6, 2007 10:49 AM PST
Asbestos suspected in 'CSI' fingerprint kit
Posted by Elsa Wenzel Post a comment Kids who want to play CSI can use a kit that shows how to dust for fingerprints, blowing away excess powder in the process. The play dust, however, contains enough asbestos to trigger cancer later in life, according to the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, which tracks toxic ingredients in consumer products.
Watchdog groups call hidden asbestos the crime in this scene.
(Credit: Planet Toys)The powder was found to contain as much as 7 percent of tremolite, one the most fatal forms of asbestos. One-time exposure has been linked with developing lung disease and mesothelioma years or decades later. The toxicant was found in six of eight samples tested by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization during a five-month examination that also found asbestos in toy clay.
The maker of the CSI kit, which is produced in China, said it performed its own tests and found no asbestos. The package continues to be sold for between $10 and $30 at eToys, Toys R Us, and other merchants.
Tests released by other nonprofit environmental groups Wednesday found lead, arsenic, and other toxic chemicals in more than one-third of 1,200 popular toys, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Some consumer advocacy groups believe that lead appearing in jewelry and children's toys made in China may originate from circuit boards and other parts of discarded electronics.
Such news may lead parents to worry about a world more dangerous than the one in which they grew up, as today's playthings can harm children's health or just addle their attention. Toys of the past, like the Zulu toy gun, may have been more obviously hazardous, but hidden toxic ingredients are harder to measure.
Topics:Cool gear
Tags:toxic, csi, toys, green tech, asbestos, cancer, lead, children, gifts, made in china
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I looked at getting this for my nephews, I am glad that I didn't
Almost makes you afraid to buy anything.. Bunch of nonsense. This is what we get for Outsourcing so many of our jobs and products.
Hasn't the CPSC acted on this?
I don't know and haven't researched it, but my son Scott tells me that asbestos is not "regulated" in the same way that, for example, lead is. There are a multitude of rules for working around asbestos, but it is still used in insulation, brake shoes, and other products in the U.S. Scott also tells me that asbestos is for all practical purposes banned in Western Europe, and that brake shoes in that part of the world do not contain asbestos.
I have no idea how to research what Scott says. I will see my ex on Christmas Day, and he's an engineer with a wide range of knowledge, so I'm going to ask him what he knows about the regulation of the use of asbestos.
just one more reason my kids have informed me to have a very video christmas..LOL
Solution - books, clothes, videos Especially books!!!
Books, cds, dvds, yarn! LOL! But I have older kids!
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