The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) today approved a ban of baby rattles small enough to choke or suffocate infants by lodging in their throats.
Since 1974, CPSC has learned of ten infant deaths from choking on the small rattles. Also on file are 19 non-lethal incidents where suffocation was halted by a quick-thinking parent who pulled the rattle from the child's throat.
Rattles connected with the chokings are about four inches long and shaped like telephone receivers, barbells, clothes pins and safety pins, but other types of rattles could also create the choking hazard.
Prohibited under the ban would be all rattles small enough to fit into a 35mm by 50mm opening in a cavity of a testing device and project to a depth of 30mm. These dimensions were adopted from a Canadian testing tool designed to identify unsafe rattles in a ruling last year.
While about three-quarters of all U.S.-sold rattles did not meet the requirements when the safety rule was proposed last November, many American companies are already retooling to manufacture larger rattles.
The ban will take effect 90 days after publication in the Federal Register, expected shortly. At that time, non-complying rattles can no longer be introduced into interstate commerce.
About the U.S. CPSC
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risk of injury associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product-related incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. Since the CPSC was established more than 50 years ago, it has worked to ensure the safety of consumer products, which has contributed to a decline in injuries associated with these products.
Federal law prohibits any person from selling products subject to a Commission ordered recall or a voluntary recall undertaken in consultation with the CPSC.
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