Commercial Information Circulars

24-hour hotline : 23 922 922

e-mail address : enquiry@tid.gov.hk

Ref : EIC 111/2/21

4 September 2012

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 699/2012

US : CPSC Safety Standard for Magnet Sets

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) published in the Federal Register (FR) of 4 September 2012 a notice of proposed rulemaking to develop new standard for high-powered magnet sets. The FR notice is available at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-09-04/pdf/2012-21608.pdf. 

DETAILS

2. CPSC has preliminarily determined that there may be an unreasonable risk of injury associated with children ingesting high-powered magnets that are part of magnet sets. In this connection, CPSC is issuing a proposal to address such risk.

3. Under the proposal, if a magnet set contains a magnet that fits within CPSC's small parts cylinder, magnets from that set would be required to have a flux index of 50 or less, or they would be prohibited. The flux index would be determined by the method described in ASTM F963-11 ("Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety"), as developed by the American Society for Testing and Materials International (ASTM International). 
 

4. Interested parties may submit comments on the proposal to CPSC by 19 November 2012.

ENQUIRIES

5. For enquiries concerning this circular, please contact the undersigned at telephone number 2398 5682.

Yours faithfully,

(Miss Cindy LAU)

for Director-General of Trade and Industry

Note :

While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the above information, the Department cannot guarantee this to be so and will not be held liable for any reliance placed on the same.