II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4479 

To ban certain small, high-powered magnets, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 23, 2022 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To ban certain small, high-powered magnets, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Magnet Injury Preven5 tion Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) Small, high-powered magnets are commonly 

9 sold in sets of 200 or more individual magnets. 

10 (2) Small, high-powered magnets pose a hidden 

11 hazard to infants, children, and teens. 


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1 (3) When 2 or more high-powered magnets are 

2 ingested, or a high-powered magnet and a ferromag3 netic object are ingested, the force (or flux) allows 

4 magnets to find each other across or between dif5 ferent segments of body tissue, such as GI tissue. 

6 (4) When magnets, or magnets and ferromag7 netic objects, connect across or between different 

8 segments of body tissue, the result can be perfora9 tions, abscesses, fistulas, or other life-threatening 

10 conditions. 

11 (5) Sometimes, the magnetic force causes the 

12 body tissue, such as intestines, to twist, cutting off 

13 blood supply and leading to bowel necrosis. 

14 (6) Ingestion of 2 or more high-powered 

15 magnets, or a high-powered magnet and a ferromag16 netic object, confers a high risk of abdominal catas17 trophe and death. 

18 (7) Ingestion of 2 or more high-powered 

19 magnets has resulted in numerous deaths and seri20 ous injuries. 

21 (8) Children almost universally require high22 cost medical intervention following high-powered 

23 magnet ingestions. 

24 (9) Evidence does not exist that warning infor25 mation, alone, will sufficiently reduce the hazard asVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:09 Jun 30, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4479.IS S4479

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1 sociated with the ingestion of small, high-powered 

2 magnets. 

3 (10) The absence of final regulatory action to 

4 reinstate standards for small, high-powered magnet 

5 sets requires legislative action. 

6 SEC. 3. BAN ON CERTAIN MAGNETS. 

7 (a) BAN ON CERTAIN SMALL, HIGH-POWERED

8 MAGNETS.—Not later than 90 days after the date of en9 actment of this Act, covered small, high-powered magnets, 

10 regardless of the date of manufacture, shall be considered 

11 a banned hazardous product under section 8 of the Con12 sumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2057). 

13 (b) COVERED SMALL, HIGH-POWERED MAGNET DE14 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘covered small, high15 powered magnet’’ means any individual or set of separable 

16 magnets that— 

17 (1) is— 

18 (A) a consumer product (as defined in sec19 tion 3 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 

20 U.S.C. 2052)) that is— 

21 (i) designed, marketed, or intended to 

22 be used for entertainment, jewelry (includ23 ing children’s jewelry), mental stimulation, 

24 stress relief, or a combination of these; 


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1 (ii) not a toy subject to ASTM F963 

2 (or any successor standard); and 

3 (iii) not children’s jewelry that is sub4 ject to ASTM F2923 (or any successor 

5 standard); or 

6 (B) a component of a consumer product 

7 described in subparagraph (A); 

8 (2) is or contains any individual magnet that 

9 fits completely within the small parts cylinder de10 scribed in section 1501.4 of title 16, Code of Federal 

11 Regulations; and 

12 (3) is or contains any individual magnet with a 

13 flux index of 50 kG2 mm2 or greater. 

14 SEC. 4. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY STANDARD FOR 

15 OTHER SMALL, HIGH-POWERED MAGNETS. 

16 (a) FINAL STANDARD FOR OTHER SMALL, HIGH17 POWERED MAGNETS.—Not later than 12 months after 

18 the date of enactment of this Act, the Consumer Product 

19 Safety Commission shall promulgate, in accordance with 

20 section 553 of title 5, United States Code, a final con21 sumer product safety standard for other small, high-pow22 ered magnets if the Commission determines that a con23 sumer product safety standard is reasonably necessary to 

24 protect children from death or injury related to such 

25 magnets. The determination made by the Commission 


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1 under this subsection shall be made not later than 3 

2 months after the date of the enactment of this Act and 

3 shall be published in the Federal Register. 

4 (b) FUTURE RULEMAKING.—At any time after 12 

5 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Con6 sumer Product Safety Commission may promulgate, in ac7 cordance with section 553 of title 5, United States Code, 

8 a final product safety standard for other small, high-pow9 ered magnets. 

10 (c) OTHER SMALL, HIGH-POWERED MAGNETS DE11 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘other small, high-pow12 ered magnets’’ means any individual or set of separable 

13 magnets that— 

14 (1) is— 

15 (A) a consumer product (as defined in sec16 tion 3 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 

17 U.S.C. 2052)) that is— 

18 (i) designed, marketed, or intended to 

19 be used for entertainment, jewelry (includ20 ing children’s jewelry), mental stimulation, 

21 stress relief, or a combination of these; 

22 (ii) not a toy subject to ASTM F963 

23 (or any successor standard); and 


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1 (iii) not children’s jewelry that is sub2 ject to ASTM F2923 (or any successor 

3 standard); or 

4 (B) a component of a consumer product 

5 described in subparagraph (A); 

6 (2) is or contains any individual magnet that 

7 fits completely within the small parts cylinder de8 scribed in section 1501.4 of title 16, Code of Federal 

9 Regulations; and 

10 (3) is or contains any individual magnet with a 

11 flux index of greater than kG2 mm2 and less than 

12 or equal to 50 kG2 mm2. 

Æ 


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