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.

Results Table
Brand Product Name Source of Sample Determination Corrective Action

Table 1 footnotes

Table 1 footnote 1

Jacobs Trading carried other rock and mineral products that were not labelled with asbestos products.

Return to table 1 footnote 1 referrer

Table 1 footnote 2

“No name” means that no brand name was identified on the label of the targeted product.

Return to table 1 footnote 2 referrer

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).

For More Information:

Page details

Date modified: