On March 6, the United States Senate voted overwhelmingly to enhance toy safety by passing a bill that would make the ASTM International F 963 toy safety standard a mandatory federal requirement for all toys sold in the United States.
The bipartisan Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Reform bill, which the Senate approved in a 79 to 13 vote, would increase funding for the CPSC and require that toys be independently tested to ASTM F 963, Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety.
Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, who added this toy safety requirement to the proposed law and championed its passage in the Senate, stated, “By requiring that children’s products be held to a higher safety standard and tested by an outside group, we can stop unsafe ones from entering the marketplace.” Commenting on the importance of the toy safety provisions in the bill, Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska remarked, “When a child unwraps a gift on his or her birthday, the surprise should be what the toy is – not whether the toy is unsafe. It should not have dangerous substances or unsafe parts.”
ASTM F 963 incorporates relevant safety measures already required under federal law and includes additional guidelines and test methods to prevent injuries from choking, sharp edges and other potential hazards. ASTM Committee F15 on Consumer Products – which includes technical experts from academia, consumer groups, industry and government – revised the standard last year to account for new dangers from ingestible magnets and loud acoustic levels.
The CPSC Reform bill also adopts ASTM F 2517, Standard Specification for Determination of Child Resistance of Portable Fuel Containers for Consumer Use, as a mandatory consumer safety rule to help prevent burn injuries to children who attempt to play with gasoline stored for home use. Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri inserted this provision into the Senate bill. Congressman Dennis Moore, who has long championed this safety requirement, succeeded last year in passing this measure separately in the House of Representatives. ASTM F 2517 is also under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee F15 on Consumer Products.
"Making compliance with ASTM F 963 mandatory is a big step toward rebuilding consumer confidence in the safety of toys," said Donald Mays, senior director of product safety and technical public policy for Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports. Mays, who is an active member of ASTM, worked with other consumer advocates in support of this legislation.
In order to become law, the Senate bill must first be harmonized with companion legislation already passed by the House of Representatives and then signed by President Bush. Encouraging Congressional colleagues to continue to work in a bipartisan manner, Senator Nelson remarked, “For the safety of our children, we must send this bill to the president.”
To learn more about how you can become a member of ASTM International and participate in standards development, visit www.astm.org or contact Len Morrissey, Technical Committee Operations, ASTM International (phone: 610/832-9719; lmorriss@astm.org).
Release #7929