Arts & Crafts Product Information

Glaze Recommendations: Lead and/or Cadmium Content and Release Information for all AMACO® Glazes

The following is a key to all individual glaze listings:
[1] Dinnerware safe. Contains no lead or cadmium-bearing ingredients.
[2] Not dinnerware safe. Contains no lead or cadmium bearing ingredients. We do not recommend these glazes on surfaces which come in contact with food or drink due to the soft or crackle nature of the glaze, even though they pass test for lead and cadmium release.

Caution: None of these products should be taken internally. Contain ingredients not suitable for ingestion or inhalation.

Note: In order for glazes labeled [1] to be dinnerware safe, they must be fired to recommended firing temperature.

AP Nontoxic and CL Seals

When specifying or purchasing art materials, Nasco recommends you carefully consider the ultimate consumer. Products bearing the AP Seal or the CL Seal are certified by the Arts and Creative Materials Institute (ACMI) to contain no materials in sufficient quantities to be health problems.

For more information about the ACMI, contact:
The Art and Creative Materials Institute, Inc.
PO Box 479
Hanson, MA 02341-0479

Conforms to ASTM D-4236 – This means the standards required by the Consumer Product Safety Commission for the testing of this category of materials has been met for not only occasional but extended use. Safe for the instructor as well as the less “exposed” user of the materials.

AP (Seal) – AP glazes are intended for use in grade PreK and up.

What does the AP Seal Mean?
The new 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). Additionally, products bearing the AP Seal with Performance Certification or the CP Seal are certified to meet specific requirements of material, workmanship, working qualities, and color developed by ACMI and others through recognized standards organizations, such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Some products cannot attain this performance certification because no quality standard currently exists for certain types of products.

CL (Seal) – CL glazes are suitable for use in grade 7 and up with adult supervision. These glazes are prohibited from use in grades PreK-6.

What does the CL Seal Mean?
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 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).

PMA
The seal of the Pencil Manufacturers Association (PMA) guarantees that the products bearing the seal are totally free of any toxic substance and are safe for children.

FOR OVERALL SAFETY: Always read the labels and apply common sense when using your materials. Should you require SDS (Safety Data Sheets) for any materials, Nasco keeps them on file and will gladly supply them upon request. Some are available in a downloadable PDF format and can be found on the product detail Web pages.