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CPSC Issues Magnet Reminder

GDA Staff -- Gifts and Dec, 11/10/2011 3:18:15 PM

Washington, DC - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued an advisory reminding retailers and consumers that high-powered magnets are a safety risk to children. When two or more magnets are swallowed, they can attract one another internally, resulting in serious injuries, such as small holes in the stomach and intestines, intestinal blockage, blood poisoning and death.

The CPSC received one incident report in 2009, seven in 2010 and 14 through October 2011. The incidents involved children from 18 months to 15 years old. Some 17 of the incidents involved magnet ingestion and 11 required surgical removal of the magnets.

High-powered magnets and magnet components that are of a size that can be swallowed are prohibited in toys for children younger than age 14. The reported incidents involve magnets that are marketed as desk toys and stress relievers for adults. Often, they are sold in sets of 200 or more magnets in stationery, office supply and gift stores and online.

CPSC received reports of toddlers finding loose pieces of magnets or magnets left within reach. It can be extremely difficult for a parent to tell if any of the magnets are missing from a set. In some reported incidents, toddlers have accessed loose magnets left on a table, refrigerator, sofa or floor. Older tweens and teenagers use the magnets to mimic body piercings, placing them on opposite sides of ear lobes, tongues and noses. This has resulted in magnets being unintentionally inhaled and swallowed. CPSC is also aware of instances where the magnets were swallowed intentionally.

The CEOs of Kringles Toys and Gifts, maker of Nanospheres, and Maxfield and Oberton, maker of Buckyballs, remind the public that their products are for adults only, and join the CPSC in urging consumers who have purchased magnet sets for children younger than 14 years of age (or households with children under 14 years of age) to remove access to the sets by children immediately and contact the firms for a refund.

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