In a latest report published on July 7, 2022, ANSES is concerned about the number of pollutants, chemicals and other toxic products in the composition of school supplies. For these products, the Agency recommends the same monitoring as that for toys.
[Mise à jour du 7 juillet 2022 à 13h25]For several years, ANSES has reported on the worrying composition of office equipment and other school supplies. As parents prepare to make these purchases over the next few weeks for the 2022-2023 school year, new expertise from the Health Security Agency sounds the alarm: pens, adhesive tapes, glues, notebooks and many other items are filled with products harmful to health.
Are school supplies dangerous for children?
Edifying observation for ANSES, with regard to the tics of children who chew pens or smell glue: the school materials they use every day are filled with toxic chemicals, which even via the simple cutaneous, can have consequences on health. After compiling the results of various studies conducted by independent organizations such as 60 million consumers or the UFC Que Choisir, ANSES is seeking to change the laws governing the production of school supplies. According to all the conclusions indeed, the presence of allergenic, irritating, haemato-toxic or downright carcinogenic products is legion, while the production of supplies does not obey any restrictive legislation. Anthology of toxic products identified: phthalates, formaldehyde, bisphenol A or even hydrocarbonsfor the best known.
What school supplies to avoid?
Pending a health law governing the composition of office equipment, a major recommendation to remember: avoid products with glitter and/or scented. “Pending the implementation of such a regulatory change, I would advise consumers to favor supplies that do not contain perfumes, glitter or other artifice which can induce behaviors diverted by children, such as “chewing”, or even ingestion“says Céline Dubois, coordinator of this expertise at ANSES.
Apply toy regulations to supplies
In Europe or in France, the composition of supplies suffers from a “protection deficit” for which ANSES has a ready-made solution: consider supplies as toys, or apply to them the “European regulations on the safety of toys“, which would thus guarantee their harmlessness. Strict and equipped with meticulous specifications, its extension to school supplies would make it possible to promote “the reduction, or even the elimination of the majority of the substances identified in the supplies at the present time, for example perfuming substances, phthalates, certain metals or PAHs” This is also the case for markers, colored pencils or paint which, often used for fun purposes, are considered toys. In addition, the Agency recommends increased monitoring of products placed on the market, as well as more in-depth sampling and studies in search of unregulated chemical substances.