Toy safety standard ASTM F963-23 officially released
The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) released the revised F963 Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety (ASTM F963-23) on October 13 . Under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008, once a revised standard is published and ASTM formally notifies the CPSC, the CPSC has 90 days to object to any changes that they believe will not improve toy safety. If no objection is raised, then 180 days after notification, the revision will become mandatory .
Key updates in this revision :
| Safety requirements (heavy metals) | Revise the scope of heavy metal exemption for base materials to be consistent with the scope of CPSC exemption. |
| Safety requirements (phthalate) | The requirements have been revised to be consistent with the CPSC. |
| Security requirements (sound) | ❖Add a paragraph to explain that the abuse test requirements are also suitable for toys for children aged 8 to 14 years old . The abuse test parameters for this age group are consistent with the requirements for 3 to 8 year olds . ❖Add a paragraph to emphasize that when a toy has multiple characteristics , all characteristics need to be tested , and when a toy does not belong to any one characteristic, the most appropriate requirement should be used . ❖The following subdivision categories have been added, and sound pressure limit requirements are set separately for different subdivision categories: ★Hand toys
★Rattles
★Static or self-propelled tabletop, floor or crib toys ★User driven desktop, floor or crib toys |
| Safety requirements (battery-operated toys) | Added battery accessibility requirements. This requirement is for situations where there is a fixture to hold the battery door in place, requiring the fixture to remain fixed to the battery door before and after the abuse test. |
| Safety Requirements (Intumescent Materials) | A paragraph has been added to clarify that the requirements for intumescent materials also apply when: ❖Toy parts that are small parts are wrapped in a shell that is not a small part. This shell is expected to dissolve in liquid, or be opened or broken by a child, and the expanded parts inside will be exposed. ❖It is not a widget that is in an expanded state when received by the consumer , but may shrink again (such as during storage), resulting in a re-expandable widget. |
| Safety requirements (projectiles) | In the projectile kinetic energy test section, a specific kinetic energy test method for bows and arrows has been added. |
| Security Requirements (Tracking Labels) | The newly added requirements are consistent with those of the CPSC. |