ISO toughens toy safety for hazard-free play

ISO toughens toy safety for hazard-free and fun play

11 June 2010

Millions of toys have been recalled around the world because of hazardous levels of lead or cadmium, choking hazards, dangerous magnets, and other safety hazards. Two new Standards in the ISO 8124 toy safety series aim to reduce the risk of a child being injured by unsafe equipment or dangerous substances.

'There is no question that ISO 8124 is a cornerstone of the global toy safety network,' said Arnie Rubin, CEO of Funrise and President of the International Council of Toy Industries, in a recent interview in ISO's magazine, ISO Focus+. 'Assuring the safety of children has been our industry's priority.'

Published under the generic title, Safety of toys, the ISO 8124 series of Standards are designed to minimise potential toy hazards arising from their use in intended play modes (normal use), as well as unintended play modes (reasonably foreseeable abuse).

New to the series is ISO 8124-4:2010, Safety of toys – Part 4: Swings, slides and similar activity toys for indoor and outdoor family domestic use. The new Standard gives requirements and test methods for swings, slides and many other activity toys, thereby ensuring fun and safe playtime. It applies to activity toys used indoors and outdoors by children under 14 years of age and in the family context only.

Accident data together with risk analyses were the basis for improvements in a new version of ISO 8124-3:2010, Safety of toys – Part 3: Migration of certain elements. The improved Standard is intended to minimise children's exposure to potentially toxic elements by reducing the risk of harm if toys are ingested. It gives the maximum acceptable levels of dangerous substances such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, and other materials possibly found in toys. ISO 8124-3:2010 replaces the previous 1997 ISO edition.

Note: ISO 8124-3:2010 does not yet replace the Australian/New Zealand 2003 adoption of ISO 8124-3:1997. AS/NZS 8124.3:2003 is an adoption and was reproduced from the 1997 version of ISO 8124-3, with variations to take account of Australian/New Zealand conditions.

According to the Chair, the ISO 8124 series is expected to expand in the near future with the addition of three more new parts. These include:

1. Total concentration of certain elements in toy material
2.
3. Determination of phthalate plasticisers in plasticised material
4.
5. Fingerpaints.
6.
Buy ISO 8124-4:2010 Safety of toys – Part 4: Swings, slides and similar activity toys for indoor and outdoor family domestic use

Buy ISO 8124-3:2010 Safety of toys – Part 3: Migration of certain elements.

You can now purchase PDFs of all ISO Standards from Standards New Zealand – please email enquiries@standards.co.nz or call 0800 782 632 during business hours to order PDFs. ISO publications in hardcopy format are also available for purchase from our website www.standards.co.nz by entering the Standard number and selecting the ISO button in the search panel.

Related Standards

Note: The 2009 edition of ISO 8124.1 Safety of toys – Safety aspects related to mechanical and physical properties will soon be published as an AS/NZS modified adoption of ISO 8124.1:2009.

AS/NZS ISO 8124 Safety of toys set

AS/NZS ISO 8124.1:2002 Safety of toys – Safety aspects related to mechanical and physical properties

AS/NZS ISO 8124.2:2009 Safety of toys – Flammability

AS/NZS ISO 8124.3:2003 Safety of toys – Migration of certain elements

AS/NZS 8124.9:2008 Safety of toys – Organic chemical compounds – Requirements

AS/NZS 8124.10:2008 Safety of toys – Organic chemical compounds – Sample preparation and extraction

AS/NZS 8124.11:2008 Safety of toys – Organic chemical compounds – Methods of analysis

NZS 5820:1982 Specification for the safety of toys

NZS 5822:1992 Prevention of ingestion and inhalation hazards in toys intended for use by children under three years of age

AS/NZS 62115:2008 Electric toys – Safety

Order these Standards from www.standards.co.nz (enter the Standard number as the keyword into the search panel), email enquiries@standards.co.nz, or call 0800 782 632 during business hours.

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