Consumer Product Enforcement Summary Report: Asbestos Products
Cyclical Enforcement Project: Asbestos Products Regulations
Fiscal Year 2014/2015
Summary
The Consumer Product Safety Program (CPSP) administers and enforces the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA) and regulations made under it.
The purpose of this Cyclical Enforcement (CE) project was to verify compliance of mineral kits and collectable loose rocks which are subject to the Asbestos Products Regulations.
For this project, compliance of asbestos products with the Asbestos Products Regulations is determined through a physical inspection process by which Health Canada inspectors visit establishments and visually inspect relevant product(s) to determine if asbestos is present.
Prior to initiating this CE project, the CPSP carried out a market survey to quantify the presence of asbestos stakeholders in Canada. Targets were then selected from that list of companies.
Over the course of the 2014/15 fiscal year, thirty-two product inspections were carried out on mineral kits and collectable loose rocks. The inspections resulted in three recalls, three stop sales and twenty-six instances where no corrective action was required.
Results
Readers should consult the individual recall notices for details of the products subject to this enforcement action.
Brand | Product Name | Source of Sample | Determination | Corrective Action |
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Table 1 footnotes
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4M | Crystal Mining | Playwell | None identified | None |
American Educational Products | Mineral kits #2342 and 2353 | Prolabec | None identified | None |
American Educational Products | Moh's Hardness Scale Kit | University of Alberta Bookstore Store | None identified | None |
American Educational Products | Rock and Mineral Kit – 75-piece Intro Earth Science Collection / Canadian Collection of Rocks and Minerals - 40 piece | Quality Classrooms | None identified | None |
American Educational Products | Various Mineral Kits | Education Station | None identified | None |
American Learning Products / Educational Insights | Various Mineral Kits | Wintergreen Learning Materials | None identified | None |
Barrons | Little Box of Crystals & Gems | Mastermind Toys | None identified | None |
Boreal Science | Boreal Science | Boreal Science | Presence of asbestos | Stop sale by Boreal Science who also followed up directly with end users |
Copernicus Toys | Various Mineral Kits | Johnson Geo Centre | None identified | None |
Edu-Science (H.K.) Ltd. | Edu-Toys Rock Tumbler | Helping Hands | None identified | None |
Educational Insights / 4M / Kidz Labs / Discover with Dr. Cool |
Various Mineral Kits | Scholar's Choice | None identified | None |
Ge-o-Central | Various Mineral Kits | Royal Ontario Museum | None identified | None |
Geo-World / Ge-o-Central / Dr. Cool |
Authentic Gems Collection | Home and School Connection | None identified | None |
Green's Rock and Lapidary | Actinolite | Green's Rock and Lapidary | Presence of asbestos | Voluntary recall by Green’s Rock and Lapidary |
Home Science | Tremolite | Home Science Tools (online) | Presence of asbestos | Stop sale by Home Science Tools who also followed up directly with end users |
Local rock quarry in Souris | Various loose minerals | Souris Rock Shop | None identified | None |
MinRoc Science | Various Mineral kits | MinRoc Science | Presence of asbestos | Stop sale by MinRoc Science. Product was never distributed. |
Musée minéralogique et minier de Thetford Mines | Various minéral kits | Musée minéralogique et minier de Thetford Mines | None identified | None |
Nature's Artifacts / Ge-o-Central |
Various loose Minerals | NS Museum of Natural History | None identified | None |
Nature's Expression | All in One Discovery Geodes/Rock, Mineral, Crystal Treasure Excavation Kit | Nature's Expression (distributor for local museums) | None identified | None |
Nature’s Expression | Various loose minerals | Canada Fossil Discovery Centre | None identified | None |
Nature's Expression / Ge-o-Central | Various loose Minerals | Royal Saskatchewan Museum | None identified | None |
Nature’s Expression / Ge-o-Central | Various loose minerals | Toad Hall Toys | None identified | None |
Nature’s Expression / Kheops International / The Rock Warehouse | Various loose minerals | Jacobs TradingTable 1 footnote 1 (Ye Olde Rock Shop) | None identified | None |
Nature’s Expression / Playwell | Various loose minerals | Manitoba Museum Gift Shop | None identified | None |
No nameTable 1 footnote 2 | Actinolite Minerals (Loose Stones) | Jacobs Trading (Ye Olde Rock Shop) | Presence of asbestos | Voluntary recall by Jacobs Trading |
No name | Loose Chrysotile rocks | Gilbert’s Stone | Presence of asbestos | Voluntary recall by Nature’s Artifacts Inc. |
No name | Various Mineral Kits | Royal Alberta Museum | None identified | None |
No name | Various Mineral Kits | Worldwide Nature Company | None identified | None |
Toysmith | GEO Mysteries Mineral Science Kit/GEO Mysteries Rock Science Kit/Smashable Geodes | Great West Wholesale Ltd | None identified | None |
Toysmith / Ge-o-Central / 4M |
Various Mineral Kits | Zippity Zoom Toys | None identified | None |
Wacky Lab | Various Mineral Kits | Toys R Us | None identified | None |
Disclaimer: A systematic bias is applied during inspection and sampling. Products are not randomly selected but are chosen because they are deemed by the inspector to be more likely to not meet health and safety requirements due to characteristics that are observed. Due to this biased nature of sampling and the fact that sample sizes within CE projects are very small, the findings of CE projects are not intended to reflect overall market compliance unless otherwise stated. Note that these summary reports relate only to the product(s) actually tested and the specific criteria indicated. Testing by Health Canada does not represent approval or endorsement of the product(s).
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