Magnet Injury Prevention Act
Bill: S.4479 | Sponsor: Sen. Blumenthal, Richard (D-CT)
Policy area: Commerce

Summary:
Magnet Injury Prevention Act
This bill prohibits as hazardous consumer products specified small, high-powered magnets. The prohibition includes magnets that (1) are designed and marketed for entertainment or mental stimulation (e.g., puzzle working, sculpture building, or certain jewelry); (2) are not classified as a toy or children’s jewelry subject to existing standards; (3) pose a choking, aspiration, or ingestion risk to young children; and (4) have a magnetic field magnitude above a certain threshold.
The bill also authorizes the Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue product safety standards for certain other types of small, high-powered magnets.

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

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Magnet Injury Prevention Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Small, high-powered magnets are commonly sold in sets 
        of 200 or more individual magnets.
            (2) Small, high-powered magnets pose a hidden hazard to 
        infants, children, and teens.
            (3) When 2 or more high-powered magnets are ingested, or a 
        high-powered magnet and a ferromagnetic object are ingested, 
        the force (or flux) allows magnets to find each other across or 
        between different segments of body tissue, such as GI tissue.
            (4) When magnets, or magnets and ferromagnetic objects, 
        connect across or between different segments of body tissue, 
        the result can be perforations, abscesses, fistulas, or other 
        life-threatening conditions.
            (5) Sometimes, the magnetic force causes the body tissue, 
        such as intestines, to twist, cutting off blood supply and 
        leading to bowel necrosis.
            (6) Ingestion of 2 or more high-powered magnets, or a high-
        powered magnet and a ferromagnetic object, confers a high risk 
        of abdominal catastrophe and death.
            (7) Ingestion of 2 or more high-powered magnets has 
        resulted in numerous deaths and serious injuries.
            (8) Children almost universally require high-cost medical 
        intervention following high-powered magnet ingestions.
            (9) Evidence does not exist that warning information, 
        alone, will sufficiently reduce the hazard associated with the 
        ingestion of small, high-powered magnets.
            (10) The absence of final regulatory action to reinstate 
        standards for small, high-powered magnet sets requires 
        legislative action.

SEC. 3. BAN ON CERTAIN MAGNETS.

    (a) Ban on Certain Small, High-Powered Magnets.--Not later than 90 
days after the date of enactment of this Act, covered small, high-
powered magnets, regardless of the date of manufacture, shall be 
considered a banned hazardous product under section 8 of the Consumer 
Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2057).
    (b) Covered Small, High-Powered Magnet Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``covered small, high-powered magnet'' means any individual or 
set of separable magnets that--
            (1) is--
                    (A) a consumer product (as defined in section 3 of 
                the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2052)) that 
                is--
                            (i) designed, marketed, or intended to be 
                        used for entertainment, jewelry (including 
                        children's jewelry), mental stimulation, stress 
                        relief, or a combination of these;
                            (ii) not a toy subject to ASTM F963 (or any 
                        successor standard); and
                            (iii) not children's jewelry that is 
                        subject to ASTM F2923 (or any successor 
                        standard); or
                    (B) a component of a consumer product described in 
                subparagraph (A);
            (2) is or contains any individual magnet that fits 
        completely within the small parts cylinder described in section 
        1501.4 of title 16, Code of Federal Regulations; and
            (3) is or contains any individual magnet with a flux index 
        of 50 kG2 mm2 or greater.

SEC. 4. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY STANDARD FOR OTHER SMALL, HIGH-POWERED 
              MAGNETS.

    (a) Final Standard for Other Small, High-Powered Magnets.--Not 
later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Consumer Product Safety Commission shall promulgate, in accordance with 
section 553 of title 5, United States Code, a final consumer product 
safety standard for other small, high-powered magnets if the Commission 
determines that a consumer product safety standard is reasonably 
necessary to protect children from death or injury related to such 
magnets. The determination made by the Commission under this subsection 
shall be made not later than 3 months after the date of the enactment 
of this Act and shall be published in the Federal Register.
    (b) Future Rulemaking.--At any time after 12 months after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Consumer Product Safety Commission may 
promulgate, in accordance with section 553 of title 5, United States 
Code, a final product safety standard for other small, high-powered 
magnets.
    (c) Other Small, High-Powered Magnets Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``other small, high-powered magnets'' means any individual or 
set of separable magnets that--
            (1) is--
                    (A) a consumer product (as defined in section 3 of 
                the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2052)) that 
                is--
                            (i) designed, marketed, or intended to be 
                        used for entertainment, jewelry (including 
                        children's jewelry), mental stimulation, stress 
                        relief, or a combination of these;
                            (ii) not a toy subject to ASTM F963 (or any 
                        successor standard); and
                            (iii) not children's jewelry that is 
                        subject to ASTM F2923 (or any successor 
                        standard); or
                    (B) a component of a consumer product described in 
                subparagraph (A);
            (2) is or contains any individual magnet that fits 
        completely within the small parts cylinder described in section 
        1501.4 of title 16, Code of Federal Regulations; and
            (3) is or contains any individual magnet with a flux index 
        of greater than kG2 mm2 and less than or equal to 50 kG2 mm2.
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