16 C.F.R. § 1262.5 Findings

• Library: Code of Federal Regulations
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current through December 31, 2023
• Citation: 16 C.F.R. § 1262.5
• Year: 2023

(a) General. Section 9(f) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 15undefined2058(f)) requires the Commission to make findings concerning the following topics and to include the findings in the rule.

(b) Degree and nature of the risk of injury.

(1) The standard is designed to reduce the risk of death and injury associated with magnet ingestions. There were an estimated 26,600 magnet ingestions were treated in hospital EDs from January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2021. There were an estimated 5,000 magnet ingestions treated in U.S. hospital EDs between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2021, that involved in-scope identified subject magnet products, and an additional estimated 20,000 ED-treated magnet ingestions involving unidentified magnet products, which are likely to have involved subject magnet products. There were an estimated 2,500 ED-treated ingestions of magnets from identified magnet products in year 2021, higher than the majority of the preceding years, including 2018 through 2020. In this same period, January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2021, there were an estimated 286 CPSRMS-reported magnet ingestions involving identified subject magnet products and 76 CPSRMS-reported magnet ingestions involving unidentified subject magnet products. In addition, based on NEISS annual estimates from 2017-2021, ICM showed that there were an additional estimated 263 magnet ingestion injuries per year involving identified subject magnet products, which were treated in medical settings other than EDs (185 injuries treated outside of hospitals and 78 resulted in direct hospital admission).

(2) The potential injuries when a child or teen ingests one or more hazardous magnets are serious. Health threats posed by hazardous magnet ingestion include pressure necrosis, volvulus, bowel obstruction, bleeding, fistulae, ischemia, inflammation, perforation peritonitis, sepsis, ileus, ulceration, aspiration, and death, among others These conditions can result from magnets attracting to each other through internal body tissue, or a single magnet attracting to a ferromagnetic object CPSC is aware of serious injuries and several fatal magnet ingestion incidents that occurred in the United States, resulting from internal interaction of magnets.

(c) Number of consumer products subject to the rule. The CPSC estimates that there are approximately 500,000 subject magnet products sold annually in the United States. However, to account for a range of sales estimates, staff provided information for sales ranging from 100,000 to 1 million units annually.

(d) The need of the public for subject magnet products and the effects of the rule on their cost, availability, and utility.

(1) Consumers use subject magnet products for entertainment, mental stimulation, stress relief, and jewelry. The rule requires subject magnet products to meet performance requirements regarding size or strength, but it does not restrict the design of products. As such subject magnet products that meet the standard can continue to serve the purpose of amusement or jewelry for consumers. Magnets that comply with the performance requirements of the rule, such as non-separable magnets, larger magnets, weaker magnets, or non-permanent magnets, may be useful for amusement or jewelry. However, it is possible that there may be some negative effect on the utility of subject magnet products if compliant products function differently or do not include certain desired characteristics.

(2) Retail prices of subject magnet products generally average under $20. CPSC has identified subject magnet products that comply with the rule, and the prices of compliant and non-compliant products are comparable.

(3) If the costs associated with redesigning or modifying subject magnet products to comply with the rule results in manufacturers discontinuing products, there may be some loss in availability to consumers. However, this would be mitigated to the extent that compliant products meet the same consumer needs, and there are compliant products currently available for sale to consumers.

(4) Manufacturers may sell complying products to mitigate costs. In addition to products that comply with the...