PVCC Puma Press: April 2006

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	Photo by Travis Lane
	Although Expo makes a safer version, Expo 2, the outdated marker remains on the market.
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When the Sanford Corporation put the Expo 2 dryerase marker on the market in 1989, it provided a safer alternative to the Expo markers, which are used in classrooms all over the country.

The company, however, left the original Expo on the market, which is still being sold to colleges, high schools and elementary schools. The main ingredient, a chemical called Methyl isobutyl ketone, is listed under 39 different synonyms, according to documents provided by PVCC biology faculty.

Whether it’s listed as Hexone, MIBK or chemical code 044105, the side effects are the same. Short-term exposure to this product can cause headache, nausea, light-headedness and even enlargement of the liver.

The Puma Press has received reports from faculty members on campus who have been affected by long-term exposure to the chemicals in the Expo 1 marker.

Although the company hasn’t broken any laws, the likelihood of adverse side affects increases in children, according to a document published by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and provided to the Puma Press through biology faculty at PVCC.

“Young children cannot be expected to follow instructions for the proper use of material,” the report reads. “Such contact provides ample opportunity for inhalation, ingestion or skin absorption. Children are generally less able to tolerate exposure to chemicals.”

Palomino Elementary is one of many schools in the state using both Expo 1 and Expo 2 markers.

Other documents show that the maximum “safe” exposure to Methyl isobutyl ketone is no more than 15 minutes during a normal eight-hour work day. Absorption through the skin may be a significant source of exposure, which invalidates the 15 minute rule when the chemical hits skin.

The main ingredient in the Expo 2 markers is ethanol, a much less abrasive chemical, but one that takes more energy and money to produce.