On December 15, 2011, ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) released a new version of the mandatory toy safety standard, ASTM F963-11, aimed at continuously monitoring and addressing toy safety issues. Simultaneously, in accordance with Section 106 of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Promotion Act (CPSIA), ASTM formally notified the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) of this updated version. The CPSC was to confirm its approval or rejection of the updated version within 90 days (March 14, 2012). If the CPSC did not respond within 90 days, the new standard, ASTM F963-11, would become the official toy testing regulation 180 days after its release (June 12, 2012). The main revisions are summarized below:
Physical property test
1. Toys with spherical ends – Clearly define the product scope and provide illustrations to ensure consistent testing.
2. Stability of riding toys or toy seats – Specify load placement for front-to-back and lateral stability.
3. Squeezable toys – Narrow the scope of this requirement to only apply to parts of toys with squeezing functionality.
4. Elastic rope toys – Specify the measurement of the length of the elastic rope when it is fully extended during rotation.
5. Flammability – Change “should” to “shall” to indicate a responsibility.
6. Stuffing materials – In addition to fibrous stuffing, “loose stuffing” includes any other natural or synthetic stuffing materials, such as, but not limited to, hair, foam, feathers, sawdust, and rubber.
7. Plastic films – Expand the scope of this requirement to include plastic bags and films used as packaging materials and for toys or toy parts. 8. Toy Seats – Define “toy seats” as stationary toy products with a seat, whose primary function is to provide entertainment for children, and whose play is intended to make children sit in the seat.
9. Jaw Recesses – Revise the gauge dimensional requirements to include depth dimensions.
10. Projectile Toys – To ensure consistency in laboratory testing, standardize the list of “non-toy projectiles”.
Chemical property testing
1. Revision of total lead content in coatings and other surface coatings: The limit is 90 ppm in accordance with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA); the test method is CPSC-CH-E1003-09 (Coatings and similar coatings). 2. New requirements for heavy metals in substrates: (1) Total lead content in substrates: Applicable to accessible surfaces in 16 CFR 1500.87. No testing is required for non-small items of metal, glass and ceramic, and materials excluded in 16 CFR 1500.88 or 16 CFR 1500.91.
– The limit is 100 ppm according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA); the test method is based on:
(a) CPSC-CH-E1001-08.1 (metallic materials);
(b) CPSC-CH-CH-E1002-08.1 (non-metallic materials)
(2) Leaching of heavy metals from substrates
– Applicable to accessible surfaces in 16 CFR 1500.87. Testing is not required for non-small items of metal, glass, and ceramic, or for materials excluded in 16 CFR 1500.88 or 16 CFR 1500.91. 4. Elastic rope toys – The length of the elastic rope is measured when it is fully extended during rotation.
– The limit is the same as for leaching of heavy metals from paints and other surface coatings, as shown in Table 1.
– An additional screening method for total heavy metal content has been added. If the total content is less than the leaching limit for each element, it is considered to meet the requirements for leached heavy metal content. If it exceeds the limit, further leaching heavy metal testing is required.
– The total heavy metal content screening can accept a maximum of three similar or related materials mixed for testing (e.g., three different colors of PS plastic), but leaching heavy metal testing is not allowed. Furthermore, metals of different compositions cannot be mixed for testing, as this may affect the analytical results.
Table 1:
| 溶出性銻 (Sb) | 60 ppm |
| 溶出性砷 (As) | 25 ppm |
| 溶出性鋇 (Ba) | 1000 ppm |
| 溶出性鎘 (Cd) | 75 ppm |
| 溶出性鉻 (Cr) | 60 ppm |
| 溶出性鉛 (Pb) | 90 ppm |
| 溶出性汞 (Hg) | 60 ppm |
| 溶出性硒 (Se) | 500 ppm |
(3) Leached cadmium content (for small metal toys or metal toy components)
– According to CPSC-CHE1004-11 testing, the leached cadmium content must not exceed 200 μg.
Source: Intertek (2012-01-20)
