The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), while urging parents not to panic, said a Seattle newspaper had conducted their own tests on crayons and found they contained asbestos.

``The newspaper brought this to our attention and we are investigating the matter. No consumer products should have asbestos in them,'' said CPSC spokesman, Ken Giles.

Crayons are typically certified as ``nontoxic'' by the Art and Creative Materials Institute, a trade association based in Massachusetts.

``We don't allow anything in art material for children that can cause a hazard. We are confident that the report used by the Seattle reporter is inaccurate,'' said Debbie Fanning, executive vice president of the institute.

Giles said the CPSC did not plan to advise parents to take away crayons from their children during the investigation.

``If parents choose to put away crayons while we are doing our investigation that is their choice but the facts are not in yet,'' Giles said.

He said the agency began its investigation this week, adding he could not provide details about which companies' products were being checked or when the testing would be completed.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that Crayola, Prang and Rose Art brand crayons contain talc, which often has asbestos as a natural contaminant.

The paper said the CPSC tests would take several days and would be done in two government-certified laboratories.

Binney & Smith, the company which makes Crayola brand crayons, told the paper it had not found any asbestos in the talc and it would conduct its own tests on whole crayons.

Binney & Smith, which is a subsidiary of privately-held greeting card giant Hallmark Cards Inc., could not be reached for comment by Reuters.

The institute, which is responsible for testing about 60,000 art materials for toxicity, said each product is tested at least once every five years. Products may require more frequent testing if a manufacturer wants to get certification, decides to change its formula, switches suppliers or if new scientific data is found.

Another CPSC spokesman, Russ Rader, said the CPSC will conduct its own tests of the crayons in question. He added that while they are concerned, parents should not panic.

``If they want to take crayons away (from their children) for the time just to be cautious, they should,'' Rader said. ''But there are a lot of unanswered questions. The facts are not in.''

[Posted 5/25/2000]