More than 200 years later, an English scientist discovered that the substance was not actually lead, but a type of carbon instead. According to the Cumberland Pencil Museum, in the mid-16th century, a violent storm knocked over several trees in Borrowdale, England, uncovering a large deposit of a black substance that was first thought to be lead. We call it lead is because the Englishmen who first discovered graphite believed they had found lead. Pencil lead is not lead at all it's a combination of finely ground graphite and clay, mixed with water and pressed together at high temperatures into thin rods. Although early pencils were constructed in this manner, it is not how most wooden pencils are mass-produced today.īefore discussing how the lead is put into the wood casing, let's clear up what the actual lead is. This might lead you to believe that pencil-makers bore a hole straight down the middle of the wood and then slide in a rod of lead. For more detailed product safety on pencils check out our Product Safety and Certification mark section here.Take a look at the writing end of a brand-new wooden pencil before sharpening it it appears that the wood casing is one solid piece. Our Store includes the various certifications applicable to any given pencil within our store. To be sure you should always look for one or more of these marks on the pencils you buy. However, lack of such a mark does not mean the pencils are necessarily unsafe. If pencils you buy do not contain one of these certification marks there is some risk that there may be lead or other toxins at levels higher than allowed by law. Writing Instruments Manufacturers Association has it’s own PMA Seal of certification for toxicity purposes which includes a higher level of testing of key materials with potential toxin content and is a voluntary program it’s members choose to participate in. Pencils are generally certified to the ASTM D4236 standards or in Europe to EN71, part 3 standards to assure compliance with the law. Testing is generally performed by independent third parties not under the control of the manufacturers. Within the pencil and other related industries such as toys and art materials in the United States, as well as in all other major production regions, industry associations work to establish testing and certification procedures to assist manufacturers in assuring that products they produce meet the government standards related to lead content as well as other potential toxins. This is in addition to any potential liability issues a company may face if proven that a non-compliant product it markets causes any actual health issues for consumers who purchased that item. Failure to produce to CSPC standards is a violation of the law, and any product found to be non-compliant is subject to penalties including immediate recall from distribution channels and additional fines. The CPSC itself does not carry out mandatory testing though they do dictate the standards and often the testing protocols and will investigate complaints about a product by consumers or consumer watchdog groups. Producers that manufacture to these standards are making pencils and other products that are well within these safety limits. These are levels well below the limits considered to be dangerous established by years of scientific research. Current CPSC lead content standards dictate that lead used in paints or lacquers used on consumer goods must not exceed 90 PPM. In the United States the governing body on this issue is the Consumer Product Safety Commission or CPSC. Generally, these standards are similar from country to country but there are some variations in regulations and content standards around the world. Next, lead content in all consumer products has been under strict regulation for many years by the regulatory authorities of different governments around the world. Exposure to high levels of lead through various means can have damaging health impacts. The only relevant concern regarding potential sources of lead in pencils is in the lacquer or paint used to finish the pencil.įirst, lead is a naturally occurring element that is contained in many different raw materials used in many industries to produce many consumer products. The core is made of non-toxic graphite and does not contain lead.Īs a result of increased concern for the safety of different consumer products such as toys or art products from China, we often receive inquiries regarding the potential for exposure to lead in pencils. As mentioned on our The Unleaded Pencil page there is no lead in the writing core of a “lead” pencil.
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