asbestos in crayons

["Moscow Recycling" <MoscowRecycling@turbonet.com>]

As many of you have heard, the major crayon manufacturers have rebutted the claims made by the Seattle Post Intelligencer regarding asbestos content in crayons.  As a safety precaution, I contacted Dixon Ticonderoga, the makers of the soybean crayons we give away at the recycling center during special events, to make sure that we weren't handing out a potentially dangerous item.

 

I recieved, via fax, formal press releases from Dison Ticonderoga President and Co-CEO Richard F. Joyce, and the Art & Creative Materials Institute (the organization that judges whether crayons can be certified as non-toxic), and a copy of a letter from the R.T. Vanderbilt Company, Inc., the mineral company that supplies talc to Dixon Ticonderoga for their Prang crayons.  All of these letters refute the claims that there is asbestos in the talc.

 

Specifically, the letter from R.T. Vanderbilt Company states, "In the past the composition of this talc has been incorrectly characterized but the absence of asbestos has been repeatedly confirmed by mineral scientists in academia, consulting analytical laboratories and within the government.  Such confirmation has spanned several decades and we have prevailed in every challenge to the contrary.  We are, in fact, fortunate to have perhaps the most studied talc in the world from both a mineralogical and biological perspective."

 

I hope that this information sheds some light on the subject.  If anyone would like to look over these documents, I have them on file at Moscow Recycling--just stop by the cashier's window and ask us. 

 

Wishing you all an excellent Memorial Day Weekend,

Robin Baumgartner

Moscow Recycling/Latah Sanitation, Inc.

 

Moscow Recycling

401 N. Jackson

PO Box 9385

Moscow, ID  83843

208-882-0590

www.moscowrecycling.com

MoscowRecycling@turbonet.com