Revised ASTM F963 Toy Safety Standard Addresses Magnet Ingestion, Jaw Entrapment, Acoustics
February 27, 2009 // Published as a news service by IHS
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ASTM International Committee F15 on Consumer Products approved revisions to ASTM F963 - Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety.
Changes made to the standard include revisions to the section on ingestion of magnetic components in toys.
ASTM F963, which is under the jurisdiction of Subcommittee F15.22 on Toy Safety, includes guidelines and test methods to prevent injuries from choking, sharp edges and other potential hazards.
Revisions for ASTM F963 include:
- Magnets - Revisions account for incidents of ingestion due to magnetic components that were small parts of a toy and to reflect the age of children involved in the incidents. The section on magnets also includes special use and abuse requirements to avoid magnets from detaching from components during play.
- Acoustics - Requirements to this section were changed to provide greater clarity. The revisions to this section also bring ASTM F963 into accordance with the European toy standard, BS EN 71-1 - Safety of toys, Mechanical and physical properties.
- Yo-yo tether toys - Requirements were added to address potential strangulation hazards associated with yo-yo elastic tether toys intended for children three years of age or older.
- Impaction hazards - A section was added providing impaction hazard requirements for toys intended for children up to the age of 48 months. Diagrams of spherical and hemispherical ends were also added.
- Flammability - The revision establishes the protocol and general criteria for flammability testing of solids and soft toys in conformance with the requirements of Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) 16 CFR 1500.3(c)(6)(vi).
- Other revised areas of the standard include sections on jaw entrapment, packaging film/age requirements as they pertain to use and abuse testing and folding mechanisms and hinges.
Requirements for testing of lead in toys were not changed from the ASTM F963-07 version of the standard cited in the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act of 2008.
Source: ASTM International.