Revisions Made to Key Parts of ASTM F963

The ASTM International Committee F15 on Consumer Products has approved revisions to ASTM F963 (Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety). Changes made to the standard include revisions to the section on heavy metals, the introduction of compositing procedures, and new safety requirements and technical guidance for bath toy projections, acoustics, and other potential safety hazards in toys.

ASTM F963, 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. The standard is reviewed and updated on a regular basis by the subcommittee, which includes technical experts from academia, consumer groups, industry, and government.

Approved revisions include:

Heavy Metals: “Limits for heavy metals in toy substrates have been added to the existing surface coating requirements. A soluble approach for determination of heavy elements in toys and toy components has been maintained as this has been demonstrated to be more closely correlated than total content with the amount of element which is bioavailable, and therefore with risk of toxicity.”*

Compositing Procedure for Total Heavy Metal Analysis: “Revisions outline detailed procedures for accomplishing this end by specifying the conditions under which compositing is allowable, when a composite result may be relied upon without further testing, and when testing of individual samples must subsequently be performed.”*

Bath Toy Projections: “Revisions are intended to address the potential hazards that may be presented by vertical, or nearly vertical, rigid projections on bath toys. This requirement is intended to minimize possible puncture or other hazards to the skin that might be caused if a child were to fall on a rigid projection.”*

Other revised areas include sections on: jaw entrapment; toys with spherical ends; stability of ride-on toys; requirements for squeeze toys attached to rings; use of cords, straps, and elastics; packaging film; and yo-yo tether balls.

*Descriptions are quoted from an ASTM International press release.

This post was originally written by Elizabeth A. Reid and published by ToyBook.com. For more news, visit www.toybook.com, follow The Toy Book on Twitter, and like The Toy Book on Facebook. The Toy Book is a bimonthly trade magazine covering the toy industry, published by Adventure Publishing Group.

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