Arts& Crafts

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] Dinnerware safe. Contains some lead and/or cadmium compounds but passes test for lead and cadmium release.
[3] Contains some lead and/or cadmium compounds and does not pass test for lead and cadmium release. Not recommended for surfaces which come in contact with food or drink.
[4] Contains no lead or cadmium-bearing ingredients. Not recommended for surfaces which come in contact with food/drink due to the soft or crackle nature of the glaze, even though they pass tests for lead and cadmium release.
[5] Contains no lead or cadmium bearing ingredients but does not pass test for lead and cadmium release due to the soft crackle nature of the glaze. Not recommended for surfaces which come in contact with food or drink.

Caution: None of these products should be taken internally. Contain ingredients not suitable for ingestion or inhalation.
Note: In order for glazes labeled [1] and [2] to be dinnerware safe, they must be fired to recommended firing temperature.
Sorry, anything designated with a Health Label symbol is unavailable for sale to Massachusetts. (Massachusetts State Law controls sale and use of these products.)

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) – In addition to the ASTM conformance, the manufacturer has chosen to undergo and adhere to a higher standard put forth by the ACMI (Arts & Crafts Materials Institute). To receive the AP seal, a product must not only be nontoxic and meet or exceed the ASTM D-4236 standards, but to be proven to be a consistent performer by the standards of art.

Previously, there were both AP and CP seals. In the interest of making the seals more understandable, ACMI has revamped them – AP now covers what had been both the AP and CP designations. There is a period of time for manufacturers to get their printed labels into conformance – so expect to see changes in this area.

CL (Seal) – The "old" designation was the Health Label seal which covered materials requiring special handling for safety, as well as anything manufactured outside of the United States. There were many forms of the HL seal to cover all the different options. The new CL seal covers them all, and means that the materials should be handled according to label directions to ensure the user's safety.

For overall safety, always read the labels and apply common sense when using your materials. Should you require MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) for any materials, Nasco keeps them on file and will gladly supply them upon request and some are available in a downloadable PDF format and can be found on the product detail Web pages.

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.