The Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials Act (LHAMA ) and the ASTM D4236-94 Standard Practice for Labeling Art Materials for Chronic Health Hazards standard, developed by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), require all art materials marketed in the United States to undergo a toxicological examination to determine the product's potential to produce adverse chronic health effects and hazard labeling.
Art materials also require toxicological risk assessments and must be appropriately labelled for acute hazards, if deemed necessary, within the framework of relevant legal regulations. Services provided in this manner generally include:
Major products that require LHAMA certification include: art materials such as paint, ink (pencils, pens, highlighters), chalk, watercolor discs, colored pencils, clay, ceramics, adhesives and glue.
ASTM D4236-94 standard describes the procedure for developing precautionary labels for art materials and provides hazard and precautionary statements based on information available to the scientific and medical communities. This practice covers chronic health hazards known to be associated with a product or product components when present in a physical form, volume, or concentration that has the potential to produce chronic adverse health effects in the opinion of a toxicologist.
This application only applies to art supplies packaged in sizes designed for individual users of any age or those participating in a small group.
Labeling decisions take into account reasonably foreseeable use or abuse. Precautionary labeling responsibility lies with the manufacturer or repackager who markets the materials for arts or crafts use.
This standard does not specify test methods for determining whether a substance or product poses a chronic health hazard.
This practice does not apply to products that are appropriately labeled for known chronic health hazards in accordance with chemical substance labeling standards and practices, e.g., another national consensus standard, existing labeling regulations, statutes, or guidelines.
Because information about chronic health hazards is incomplete and warnings cannot cover all uses of any product, precautionary labeling is unlikely to ensure completely safe use of an art product.
Manufacturers or repackagers may wish to establish precautionary labeling for art materials individually or collectively in accordance with this practice. Compliance may be confirmed by a certification body.
Some art materials contain compounds known to have the potential for chronic toxicity. These include asbestos in various solvents, certain pigments, glazes, drying agents for oil paints, and modeling compounds. Although many of these products are designed to be used by professionals who know safe usage practices, the widespread use of art materials in schools has led to children using them. Inadequate labeling, combined with a lack of knowledge among many teachers about health hazards and the safe use of art materials, also lacks adequate ventilation for solvent-based products commonly used in classrooms. Safety advocates conduct surveys and publish reports on materials used in art classrooms.
The Labelling of Hazardous Art Materials Act (LHAMA) law requires art material labels to be
The statement “Conforms to ASTM D4236-94” is required in the product labeling as evidence that the standard’s guidelines are followed. The evaluation must be conducted by a board-certified toxicologist, and the product must be reevaluated periodically at least every five years.
Another important piece of information that may be included on the label as directed by this standard is the source of additional information. This may be a toll-free telephone number that is available 24 hours a day or instructions for contacting a poison control center network. Under the Hazardous Art Materials Labeling Act, chronically hazardous products are required to carry the telephone number of a person responsible for placing the product on the market.
Uniform toxicological evaluation of products is necessary to ensure accuracy and consistency. The Hazardous Art Materials Labeling Act includes a provision requiring art and craft materials to establish guidelines for determining whether they contain chronic hazards. It also requires those responsible for placing an art material on the market to provide a written description of the criteria used to determine these hazards and a list of products requiring chronic hazard warnings.
In short, this law requires that all art materials be examined to determine their potential to pose a chronic hazard and that appropriate warning labels be placed on art materials found to pose a chronic hazard.
Our organization has a strong staff that closely follows the developments in the world in the field of science and technology and constantly improves itself. Among the numerous test, measurement, analysis and evaluation studies provided for businesses in various sectors, there are also testing services within the scope of the "Law on Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials (LHAMA)".
To get an appointment, to get more detailed information or to request an evaluation, you can ask us to fill in our form and reach you.
