Health & Safety

Products that have been submitted for toxicity assessment under the program administered by the Art and Craft Materials Institute Inc. of Boston, MA, and have been assessed by the Institute's Toxicologist will carry the symbol depicted below. These products are either CL or AP rated products.

CL Certified Product Seal

The CL Seal identifies products that are certified to be properly labeled in a program of toxicological evaluation by a medical expert for any known health risks and with information on the safe and proper use of these materials. This seal is currently replacing the HL Health Label (Cautions Required) Seal (shown below) over a 5-year phase-in period. These two Seals appear on only 15% of the adult art materials in ACMI’s certification program and on none of the children’s materials. These products are also certified by ACMI to be labeled in accordance with the chronic hazard labeling standard, ASTM D 4236, and the U. S. Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials Act (LHAMA).

AP Approved Product Seal

The AP (Approved Product) Seal, with or without Performance Certification, identifies art materials that are safe and that are certified in a toxicological evaluation by a medical expert to contain no materials in sufficient quantities to be toxic or injurious to humans, including children, or to cause acute or chronic health problems. This seal is currently replacing the previous non-toxic seals: CP (Certified Product), AP (Approved Product), and HL Health Label (Non-Toxic) over a 10-year phase-in period. Such products are certified by ACMI to be labeled in accordance with the chronic hazard labeling standard, ASTM D 4236, and the U. S. Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials Act (LHAMA).

The HL Health Label Seal (Caution Required)

Being replaced by CL seal over a 5 year period. See above.

Proposition 65 Label for California State

The California State requires that products containing certain chemicals must be labeled with Proposition 65 accordingly when offered for sale in California.

Proposition 65 was enacted by the State of California as a measure to inform and warn consumers about “potential chemicals” (utilized in consumer products) believed by the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects and/or reproductive problems.

Supervision for Use

Please read label carefully on each art supply before use. All label advice for using chemical products safely, while conservative, emphasizes the need to err on the side of caution when using art materials. Adults supervising children using art products should be comfortable in terms of their own familiarity with the products and ability to maintain a controlled environment. They should emphasize safe work practices when using art materials, including prohibiting body painting and avoiding contacts with eyes and mouth.

In any case if there is consumption of any art material, discontinue its use and contact your doctor or American Assocication of Poison Control Centers at (800) 222.1222 immediately.

MSDS Material Safety Data Sheets

MSDS Material Safety Data Sheets are documents intended to provide workers and emergency personnel with procedures for handling or working with that substance in a safe manner, and includes information such as physical data (melting point, boiling point, flash point, etc.), toxicity, health effects, first aid, reactivity, storage, disposal, protective equipment, and spill-handling procedures.  MSDS formats can vary from source to source within a country depending on national requirements.

To research and view a product's data sheet, please visit http://www.msds.com. To use MSDS application, MSDS requires you to log in or create a free account, and disables pop-up block function.