Revised Flammability Standard published by ISO to Prevent Ignition of Toys

SOESTERBERG, Netherlands - Nov. 12, 2014 - PRLog -- ISO 8124-2 specifies flammability requirements for toys and materials used in toys. The aim is to prevent ignition when the material comes into contact with a minor source of ignition.
The standard includes general requirements for all toys and in addition some specific requirements for the following toys:

- Toys intended to be worn on the head: beards, moustaches, wigs, etc. made from hair, pile or material that behaves in a similar manner to hair; masks; hoods, headdresses, etc.; flowing elements of toys to be worn on the head, but excluding paper novelty hats of the type usually supplied in party crackers;
- Toy disguise costumes and toys intended to be worn by a child in play;
- Toys intended to be entered by a child;
- Soft-filled toys.

The 2014 revision amends definitions of terms like “hair”, “flammable gas”, “liquid” and “highly flammable liquid”.  The revision also adds some new definitions including “extremely flammable liquid”, “chemical toy”, “materials with similar features” and “moulded head masks”.
The assessment of a “surface flash” has been clarified.
Some additional changes have been made in the test method section to clarify test performance and include tolerances.

ISO/TR 8124-8:2014 is a new guideline addressing the determination of the lowest age at which children start playing with toys in specific toy sub-categories and is based on the development stages and abilities of children. Age determination is an essential element in establishing toy safety requirements.

The standard has been primarily developed by ISO with the intention of becoming a globally harmonized document.  Harmonization of age determination is an important step toward further alignment of global toy safety requirements.

A European Committee for Standardization (CEN) task group is currently evaluating the possible acceptance of the ISO/TR 8124-8:2014 Technical Report into the body of European standards. SGS is a leading participant in this CEN task group.

References:

(1) ISO 8124-2:2014 (http://www.iso.org/iso/home/store/catalogue_tc/catalogue_...) – Safety of Toys Part 2: Flammability
(2) ISO/TR 8124-8:2014 (http://www.iso.org/iso/home/store/catalogue_tc/catalogue_...) – Safety of Toys Part 8: Age determination guidelines

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