The rules governing graphic materials used by children - things like paints, chalk, crayons and coloured pencils - could soon be changed, and campaigners are worried what's proposed will weaken safeguards around products children handle and use.

TheEnvironmental Protection Authority is consulting on proposed changes to the Graphic Materials Group Standard, which it says are intended to clarify the rules and make compliance easier.

It comes in the wake of the coloured sand asbestos scare in New Zealand and Australia, and a recall in the UK of imitation squeezy dumpling toys over fears of benzene contamination.

Ananda Card has had a 20-year career as analytical and research scientist and founded the campaign group Lead Aware.

"I accidentally discovered that the 1929 house that my two kids and husband and I were living in at the time… had lead everywhere," she told Nine to Noon on Thursday.

"My baby at the time was poisoned, and we had to make our house safe for the kids."

In 2024, she - and other concerned submitters - got the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to lower "the amount of lead and heavy metals that are allowed in children's art materials" and increase the age of what is considered a child.

"That was a massive win. And we were like, my followers and I were super excited about that.

"But now… the toy industry has submitted an application to undo all of those improvements that we got, and they want to reduce all of the scope of who it applies to and what it applies to and all these other things. They want to make the entire thing weaker again."

The application from the New Zealand Toy Distributors Association and the Australian Toy Association to the EPA wanted to lower the age of a 'child' from 12 to eight, claiming that by that age they are able to read and follow instructions, "including those provided with experimental or cosmetic kits that may contain hazardous materials".

The application also claims the lower tolerance for heavy metals has doubled testing costs. The EPA noted it had not independently verified the claim. Card called it "nonsense".

She said limits for heavy metals in art materials - anything that makes a mark, essentially - were currently at very low levels, comparable to those in the EU. But toy standards were "very outdated" and a lot higher - and this is the standard the toy industry wanted to return to for art materials.

"The toy industry wants to take away the graphic materials' good standard and reduce it back to what the toy standard is. So instead of improving everything, they want to just bring it back to the old way."

Card said it could result in substandard toys that would not meet overseas standards being sold here.

"That's what we want to eliminate - is our children having unsafe products when other children in other countries have safe products. Like, we should have the best standards for our children because they deserve it. Why not? We should have the best standards for them."

EPA response

EPA acting manager of reassessments Max Thomas told Nine to Noon the proposed changes did not reduce protections for children or weaken controls on hazardous substances.

"The existing limits for toxic element leaching, including for lead, are not proposed to change. We are proposing to retain the lower European limits, which provide a high level of protection for children's health.

"The proposal does narrow the scope of the graphic materials group standard by removing pens and pencils. This reflects the low risk of these products, as any hazardous substances in a pen or pencil is contained within it and therefore is not expected to be accessible during normal use.

"The move aligns with how pens and pencils are treated in overseas jurisdictions. where writing materials do not have to undergo toxic element leaching testing."

Thomas said removing them from this standard did not mean they would be unregulated, remaining "subject to consumer protection legislation, including the Fair Trading Act and Consumer Guarantees Act".

"Parents can be confident that children's art materials sold in New Zealand are subject to rules designed to protect health and safety."