West Conshohocken’s ASTM International has made major revisions to one of the world’s most respected and widely used toy safety standards.

Hundreds of leading experts and advocates for toy safety worked together diligently over a five year period to finish the update, soon to be published as F963-16: Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety.

“We identified existing parts of the 2011 standard that needed clarification, updating, or alignment,” said ASTM member Joan Lawrence, senior vice president, standards and regulatory affairs at the Toy Industry Association and chair of the ASTM F15.22 subcommittee.

“We also looked at potential emerging safety issues, new product features and new ways that toys are being used that may pose a risk to children.”

Among the many changes to the updated safety standard are new requirements on battery safety, modifications to requirements for toys involving projectiles, and new requirements for materials and toys which could expand if accidentally ingested.

The toy safety standard is used by manufacturers, importers, and retailers to design and sell products to comply with laws such as the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Act and the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. It is also used by regulatory bodies and testing laboratories.