ASTM D4236: what the label means and when handmade art supplies need it

What is ASTM D4236?

ASTM D4236 is the Standard Practice for Labeling Art Materials for Chronic Health Hazards, published by ASTM International. It sets out how a producer works out whether an art material can cause long-term harm, such as cancer, nerve damage or allergic sensitization, and how the label must warn about it. The standard does not specify test methods; it relies on a toxicologist's judgment of the formula.

The Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials Act, known as LHAMA, was enacted on November 18, 1988 and took effect on November 18, 1990. It turned the labeling part of ASTM D4236 into a federal rule under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, codified at 16 CFR § 1500.14(b)(8). The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) enforces it.

In short, the ASTM D4236 label means the art material has been reviewed by a toxicologist and is labeled for any chronic hazard the review found. It does not mean the product is free of hazards, and it does not mean a lab tested it.

This page is general information, not legal advice. The federal rules below apply across the US, rules can vary by state, and some states add their own labeling requirements for art and school supplies, so check your state as well.

Which handmade products count as art materials

LHAMA covers any substance marketed or represented as suitable for use in any phase of the creation of any work of visual or graphic art of any medium. The CPSC's own examples include ceramics and clay, chalk, stencils, colored pencils, crayons, glue, and jewelry-making kits, markers, paints, painting kits, polymer clay packs. Handmade paints, oil pastels, crayons, watercolor pans, polymer clay and resin pigment sets sold for art use all fall inside that definition.

Kits are covered too. The CPSC enforces against paints, crayons, colored pencils, glues, adhesives, and putties, if such materials are sold as part of an art, craft, model, or hobby kit. Paints sold on their own to decorate craft or hobby items are covered as well. The table shows what the CPSC's enforcement policy does and does not reach.

Packaging and placement matter for the borderline items. A single pencil is a general-use product, but a set of colored pencils sold as a sketching kit, or sold in an art supply store, is likely to be treated as an art material.

How a product gets to "conforms to ASTM D4236"

Under the rule, the review is the producer (domestic manufacturer or importer) or repackager. If you mix your own paints or press your own pastels, that is you. If you buy finished art materials and sell them unchanged under your own label, you are a repackager and the same duty applies.

1. Send the formula to a toxicologist

   The reviewer must be a toxicologist or physician certified by a nationally recognized certification board. The toxicologist keeps the formula confidential and looks at its composition, the form and amount of each ingredient, and reasonably foreseeable use or misuse.

2. Write down your criteria and send them to the CPSC

   Each producer or repackager describes in writing the criteria used to decide whether a product can cause chronic harm. The criteria go to the CPSC at RegulatoryEnforcement@cpsc.gov, with a list of the products that need hazard labels.

3. Label what the review found

   If the toxicologist finds a chronic hazard, the label carries the warning, the hazardous ingredients and safe handling instructions. If not, the product needs no warning, but it still needs the conformance statement.

4. Print the conformance statement

   The accepted wording is “Conforms to ASTM Practice D-4236,” “Conforms to ASTM D-4236,” or “Conforms to the health requirements of ASTM D-4236”. It goes whenever practicable on the product; if not practicable, it may instead be placed on the package, a display or sign at the point of purchase.

5. Review again on schedule and after changes

   Formulas and labels are reviewed at least every 5 years. A new pigment or binder counts as a reformulation, and the CPSC treats a new supplier for a component as a change in product formulation and requires reevaluation.

What a chronic hazard warning label must include

When the toxicologist finds a chronic hazard and there is no acute hazard, the signal word is WARNING, set in bold capitals. The hazard statements follow fixed wording, for example "MAY BE HARMFUL IF SWALLOWED", and the precautions follow a set list, such as "Keep out of reach of children. When using do not eat, drink, or smoke."

• The signal word and a statement of each potential chronic hazard.
• The name of each component with a potential chronic hazard, and a list of known sensitizers.
• Safe handling instructions on ventilation, protective equipment and work practices.
• A source for more health information, for example "Call your local poison control center for more health information".
• the name and United States address of the producer or repackager, and an appropriate United States telephone number.
• a statement that such art materials are inappropriate for use by children.

Producers must also give poison control centers the formula information they need, or provide a 24-hour cost-free telephone number to poison control centers. A 24-hour or toll-free number on the label itself is only required for products requiring chronic hazard labeling.

If you sell the same formula in several sizes, CPSC staff suggest you have the largest package size evaluated and label the other sizes accordingly. If you learn of a new hazard, it must reach labels on products made after 12 months from the date of discovery.

The ACMI AP seal and what it adds

The AP seal comes from the Art & Creative Materials Institute (ACMI), a trade group with more than 200 manufacturer, retailer and licensee members. The seal is voluntary. LHAMA does not require it, and a product can conform to ASTM D4236 without it.

ACMI-sealed products are reviewed by board-certified toxicologists (medical experts), who look at both acute hazards, like skin rashes or eye irritation, and for chronic hazards. ASTM D4236 covers chronic hazards only, so the seal adds a check of acute hazards and a third party's sign-off on the label. Products with the AP seal are certified to contain no materials in sufficient quantities to be toxic or injurious to humans, including children.

To use the seals, a maker joins ACMI's certification program. Annual dues for Active Members start at 50/100 of 1% for the first two million of U.S. sales of eligible products, with a minimum of $1,000 and a maximum of $50,000. Distributors of private-label products made by a member must become Licensees of ACMI. A small studio can skip the seal and still meet the law with its own toxicologist review and the conformance statement.

Art materials sold for children

LHAMA applies to art materials for users of any age, but products aimed at children carry more rules on top. For example, paint and similar surface coatings with lead above 0.009 percent (90 ppm) are banned. Children's products can also fall under other CPSC rules, such as the toy standard covered in the related guide below.

LHAMA itself is not considered a safety rule that requires certification. If another safety rule applies and your product needs a General Certificate of Conformity or a Children's Product Certificate, that certificate does not need to mention LHAMA. A product that needs a chronic hazard label must also carry a statement that such art materials are inappropriate for use by children, so it does not suit a kids' kit.

Common mistakes with the ASTM D4236 label

These are the problems a small art supply maker is most likely to run into.

• Printing "conforms to ASTM D4236" without a toxicologist review. The statement reports that a review happened, so it needs one behind it.
• Writing "non-toxic" on a product that needs a warning. The CPSC says that could be considered deceptive use of disclaimers.
• Leaving the statement off products with no hazard. The statement is needed regardless of the presence of any chronic hazard warnings.
• Changing a pigment supplier without a new review. The CPSC treats that as a change in product formulation and requires reevaluation.
• Treating the AP seal as the legal requirement. The seal is voluntary; the conformance statement is the federal rule.

For questions about your own products, the CPSC Small Business Ombudsman answers by phone at (888) 531-9070.

Where Nation fits

Questions about ASTM D4236 and LHAMA