Home > Market Intelligence > Toys & Sporting Goods > Americas

Toys & Sporting Goods

 




 
Content provided by : Intertek
12 March 2009
ASTM F963-08 Published

In its ongoing efforts to reflect the latest issues and emerging hazards in the realm of toy safety, ASTM has published its latest revision to F963, Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety. The 2008 version of the standard contains revised sections on ingestion of magnetic components, impaction hazards, acoustics, flammability and many others.

The Challenge:

  • 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. Size requirement for magnets and magnetic components has been increased to the small parts cylinder, and the age requirement has also been extended to toys for children up to 14 years of age. In addition, it includes special use and abuse requirements to avoid magnets from detaching from components during play.

  • Acoustics: Continuous sounds requirements for the pass-by test for push/pull toys have been replaced by the impulsive sounds requirements. The revisions to this section also provided further harmonization between F963 and the European toy standard, EN71-1.

  • Yo-Yo Elastic Tether Toys: Exemption for sports balls with wrist or ankle straps longer than 70 cm intended to be kicked or thrown and returned to the user has been added. The length of the strap shall be measured when the product is placed on a horizontal surface with no load.

  • Impaction hazards: Toys intended for children between the ages of 18 and 48 months that include nail, screw and bolt shapes that weigh less than 1.1 lb and incorporate spherical or hemispherical ends attached to a shaft or handle, shall be so designed that such ends are not capable of entering and penetrating past the full depth of the cavity of the supplemental test fixture. This requirement shall be tested under the force only of its own weight and in a noncompressed state.

  • Flammability: Definition of major axis has been re-defined, while the definition of accessories, strings and paper have been added. Exemptions for packaging materials, textile fabrics, and sleeping bags have also been revised. Packaging materials that are likely to be incorporated into the play pattern of the toy will not be exempt. A secondary test condition has been added if the burn rate of the toy exceeds 0.1 in/s in part due to the presence of a permanently attached fabric. New flammability testing procedures for fabrics have been added.

  • Folding Mechanisms and Hinges: The scope of this section has been revised to toy products intended or likely to support the weight of a child in normal use. Folding mechanisms now include requirements for locking devices or other means to prevent unexpected or sudden movement or collapse of the article. The locking device shall engage automatically when the product is placed in the manufacturer's recommended use position. A loading test has been added to check the rigidity of the folding mechanism and locks.

  • Jaw Entrapment in Handles & Steering Wheels: A newly added requirement to the F963-08 version to address potential jaw entrapment in handles and steering wheels that are located such that they are accessible for teething in the following categories of toys intended for children under 18 months of age: activity tables intended to be played with by a standing child, large bulky toys, stationary floor toys, push toys intended to be pushed by a child walking upright, and ride-on toys. Handles or hinges connected to the toy made with pliable material (straps and ropes) will be considered exempt.

  • Toy Chests: The toy chest requirements have been deleted from this version of F963, as they are considered as furniture and not a toy. Toy chests will be covered by a separate standard ASTM F834.

Requirements for testing of lead in toys have not been changed from the F963-07 version of the standard cited in the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008. Under the CPSIA, the Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety Standard, ASTM F963, shall become a mandatory toy safety standard under section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act. However, the Commission has issued a "1 year stay of enforcement" therefore third-party testing and certification for ASTM F963 is expected to be enforced in Feb 2010. Even so, manufacturers must still continue to ensure their products meet the requirements of the law.

For more information about product safety, you may ask Intertek expert by filling in this enquiry form.