Crayon Tests

In as much as it was our laboratory that first detected the presence of lead in crayons and chalk, I read with interest your editorial on the same subject, “Crayons That Don’t Put You in a Box” (April 11). The editorial referred to parents trying to decipher gibberish, specifically “conforms to ASTM D-4236” to try and determine if the product is safe for their children. Well, they can decipher all they want but it won’t help much.

The current ASTM D-4236 (American Society for Testing and Materials), and anyone familiar with it will agree, does not necessarily mean that the crayons or chalk were actually tested for anything. In essence, ASTM D-4236 means that the listed ingredients of a product would be subjected to a toxicological review of the scientific literature. The purpose of this is to determine the presence of harmful ingredients as listed by the manufacturer; if none are so listed the statement may be applied.

We have analyzed numerous samples of crayons in our laboratory and never once, as expected, was lead listed as an ingredient. In fact we have actually detected lead in samples that carried the ASTM statement on the package.

WILLIAM J. BONOCORA Assistant Director U.S. Customs Laboratory, Los Angeles