[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 16, Volume 2]
[Revised as of January 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 16CFR1500.50]

[Page 459-460]
 
                     TITLE 16--COMMERCIAL PRACTICES
 
             CHAPTER II--CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
 
PART 1500_HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES AND ARTICLES; ADMINISTRATION AND 
ENFORCEMENT REGULATIONS--Table of Contents
 
Sec.  1500.50  Test methods for simulating use and abuse of toys and other articles intended for use by children.

    (a) Objective. The objective of Sec.  Sec.  1500.51, 1500.52, and 
1500.53 is to describe specific test methods for simulating normal use 
of toys and other articles intended for use by children as well as the 
reasonably foreseeable damage or abuse to which the articles may be 
subjected. The test methods are for use in exposing potential hazards 
that would result from the normal use or the reasonably foreseeable 
damage or abuse of such articles intended for children.
    (b) Application--general. (1)(i) The test methods described in 
Sec.  Sec.  1500.51, 1500.52 and 1500.53 are to be used in determining 
what is normal use and reasonably foreseeable damage or abuse when 
specifically referenced under Sec.  1500.18. Other banning regulations 
may also reference these use and abuse toy test procedures.
    (ii) The test methods described in Sec.  Sec.  1500.51, 1500.52, and 
1500.53 have been established for articles intended for the specified 
age groups of children: 18 months of age or less, over 18 months but not 
over 36 months of age, and over 36 months but not over 96 months of

[[Page 460]]

age. If an article is marked, labeled, advertised, or otherwise intended 
for children of ages spanning more than one of these age groups, the 
article will be subjected to the tests providing the most stringent 
requirements. If an article is not age-labeled in a clear and 
conspicuous manner or, based on such factors as marketing practices and 
the customary patterns of usage of a product by children, is 
inappropriately age-labeled, and is intended or appropriate for children 
96 months of age or less, it will also be subjected to the most 
stringent test requirements.
    (2) For purposes of compliance with the test methods prescribed in 
Sec.  Sec.  1500.51, 1500.52, and 1500.53, the English system shall be 
used. The metric approximations are provided in parentheses for 
convenience and information only.
    (3) Each of the test methods described in Sec.  Sec.  1500.51, 
1500.52, and 1500.53 shall be applied to a previously untested sample 
except the tension test which shall be conducted with the test sample 
used in the torque test.
    (4) Prior to testing, each sample shall be subjected to a 
temperature of 73[deg]3 [deg]F. (23[deg]2 [deg]C.) as a relative humidity of 20-70 percent for a 
period of at least 4 hours. The toy testing shall commence within five 
minutes after the toy has been removed from the preconditioning 
atmosphere.
    (5) Toys reasonably intended to be assembled by an adult and not 
intended to be taken apart by a child shall be tested only in the 
assembled state if the shelf package and the assembly instructions 
prominently indicate that the article is to be assembled only by an 
adult.
    (6) Toys intended to be repeatedly assembled and taken apart shall 
have the individual pieces as well as the completed article subjected to 
these test procedures.
    (7) In situations where a test procedure may be applied in more than 
one way to a toy test component, the point (or direction) of force (or 
torque) application which results in the most severe conditions shall be 
used.
    (c) Definitions. As used in this section and in Sec.  Sec.  1500.51, 
1500.52, and 1500.53:
    (1) Toy means any toy, game, or other article designed, labeled, 
advertised, or otherwise intended for use by children.
    (2) Mouth toy means any toy reasonably intended to be placed into or 
in contact with a child's mouth.

[40 FR 1483, Jan. 7, 1975; 40 FR 16191, Apr. 10, 1975]