ASTM F963 Testing

Introduction

Manufacturers and importers of children’s products must certify that their goods have undergone testing to ensure that their products comply with applicable children’s products safety rules. Those who make toys intended for use by children ages 12 years and under must undergo third party testing. They must be certified in a Children’s Product Certificate to prove compliance with the federal toy safety standards and other applicable requirements.

ASTM International’s Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety (F963) has been the gold standard for toy safety since 1986. Once a voluntary measure, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) made the F963 standard mandatory. Today, F963 mandates that all toys for children under the age of 14 must meet the safety requirements detailed in the standard.

Ensuring safe and effective products

ASTM F963 focuses on reducing the possible safety hazards of toys. The standard covers a number of toys, including balls, plush toys, dolls and action figures, games, infant and preschool toys, ride-on toys, battery-operated toys, projectile toys, and more.

ASTM F963 incorporates certain safety measures already covered by federal law. It also provides guidelines and test methods to prevent injuries from sharp points and edges, choking on small parts, burns from battery overheating, and poisoning, along with chemical and material safety measure.

F963 mandates that all toys undergo simulated use and abuse testing procedures, along with evaluation for potential safety hazards. The regulation sets different requirements for various age limits to reflect the nature of the hazards and the expected ability of a child to cope with these hazards – physically, mentally, or both.

Safety Requirements Covered by ASTM F963

ASTM F963 contains several sections that cover safety requirements for material quality, flammability, toxicology, small objects, accessible edges, sharp points, electrical/thermal energy, and more.

The specification focuses on possible hazards that the public may not readily recognize but may encounter during the normal use or reasonably foreseeable abuse of the toy. The specification does not cover every conceivable hazard a particular toy may pose, nor does it cover the quality or performance of a toy aside from its safety. Furthermore, the standard does not cover inherent or recognizable hazards presented by the toy as part of its normal function. For example, a sharp point is necessary to the function of a needle, which should be obvious to someone purchasing a toy sewing kit. On the other hand, while a riding toy does pose inherent hazards (such as falling off the toy) that would not be covered under the standard, F963 would cover sharp edges, exposed mechanisms, and other possible hazards.

ASTM F963 is Continually Updated

Members of ASTM International review F693 continually to ensure the specifications keep up with recent innovations, incorporate new information, and to ensure the consistent application of the standards throughout the entire toy safety industry. These continual reviews allow F963 to lead the way when it comes to identifying and addressing potential safety issues in children’s toys.

In 2016, for example, the review members opted to clarify heavy elements requirements for toy substrate materials and require new labeling requirements for toys with specific types of small coin/button batteries. It set new requirements for toys and materials that could expand if accidentally swallowed and updated the guidelines for ride-on toys with a new curb impact requirement. The same update set current-limiting and temperature requirements for lithium-ion batteries, created new clarifications and requirements related to microbiological safety, and established new soaking and compression tests for magnets. The update revised requirements for toys involving projectiles and clarified requirements and supplemental guidance for any impact hazards associated with children’s toys.

The review board added new language in 2017 that says manufacturers must perform kinetic energy density when projectiles exceed a certain amount. This change reflects the fact that not all projectiles present a risk of injury. ASTM F963 – 17 is now the active standard F963 that covers all toys manufactured or imported after February 28, 2018.

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Chemical and physical testing are conducted at Eurofins Product Testing US Inc. internationally accredited chemical testing laboratory based in the Greater Seattle area, which is accredited by PJLA (L20-199), ILAC and CPSC (1556) to ISO/IEC 17025 standards.