Should the Hazardous Art Materials Law be Repealed?

Recently the Arts, Crafts and Theater Safety (ACTS) people in New York called for the repeal of the labeling of the Hazardous Art Materials Act. This the the law that requires art materials to be labeled so that you know if they are toxic. Their argument is that the law has been a dismal failure, with the art materials manufacturers paying the toxicologists that are evaluating their products – a huge conflict of interest. Repeal of the law would eliminate the financial advantage the illegal non-certifying manufacturers now have over those who comply with the law. ACTS proposes that we rely more on the mechanisms of Proposition 65, a California law. If this happened, it would make it much more difficult for manufacturers to include lead, cadmium, cobalt and other toxic materials in children’s art products.