Safety Standard for Magnets

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (Commission or CPSC) is issuing a rule to address the hazard associated with ingestion of one or more high-powered magnets. The CPSC has determined that unreasonable risks of injury are associated with small, powerful magnets that, when ingested, can interact internally through body tissue, which can lead to acute and long-term health consequences or death. The rule establishes requirements for subject magnet products that are designed, marketed, or intended to be used for entertainment, jewelry (including children's jewelry), mental stimulation, stress relief, or a combination of these purposes, and that contain one or more loose or separable magnets, but the subject products do not include magnet products sold and/or distributed solely to school educators, researchers, professionals, and/or commercial or industrial users exclusively for educational, research, professional, commercial, and/or industrial purposes. Each loose or separable magnet in a product that is subject to the rule and that fits entirely within CPSC's small parts cylinder must have a flux index of less than 50 kG\2\ mm\2\. The flux index is determined by the method described in the ASTM F963 Toy Standard. The rule exempts from its requirements toys subject to the ASTM F963 Toy Standard. The Commission takes this action under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA).