The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has honored a Hamden, CT man for his effort in protecting children against asbestos.

Ron Skomro, supervisor of the state Department of Public Health's Asbestos Program, worked with suppliers to stop the sale of art clay in the state that contains asbestos-containing talc. At the beginning of the decade, several art suppliers were using talc in their products; items such as crayons, doodled with and chewed on by children everywhere, used asbestos in their formula. Skomoro's work represents the latest step in a long struggle to remove asbestos-containing products from the market.

Skomoro began his efforts after high levels of asbestos were discovered in a school's art room and traced to clay use. Talc is included in clay to lower the temperature at which it needs to be heated, and some forms of talc are naturally contaminated with asbestos. Skomoro lobbied until the Art and Creative Materials Institute mandated that member manufacturers reformulate their products to remove asbestos.

The EPA gave Skomro its 2008 Environmental Merit Award at a ceremony in Boston.