Title: Magnet Injury Prevention Act
Policy area: Commerce

Summary:
Magnet Injury Prevention Act
This bill prohibits as hazardous products specified consumer magnets made from alloys of rare-earth elements (i.e., the group of metallic elements that includes lanthanides, scandium, and yttrium). The prohibition includes magnets that (1) are commonly marketed for entertainment (e.g., puzzle working or sculpture building), (2) are not classified as a toy or children’s jewelry, (3) pose a choking risk to young children, and (4) have a magnetic field magnitude above a certain threshold.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3143 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 3143

       To ban certain rare earth magnets, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 19, 2019

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 rare earth 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, rare earth, high-powered magnets are commonly 
        sold in sets of 200 or more individual magnets.
            (2) Rare earth, high-powered magnets pose a hidden hazard 
        to infants, children and teens.
            (3) When two or more rare earth, high-powered magnets are 
        ingested, the force (or flux) allows magnets to find each other 
        across or between different segments of the digestive system.
            (4) When magnets connect across or between different 
        segments of the digestive system the result can be 
        perforations, abscesses, or fistulas in the bowel.
            (5) Sometimes, the magnetic force causes the intestine to 
        twist, cutting off blood supply and leading to bowel necrosis.
            (6) Ingestion of two of more rare earth, high-powered 
        magnets confers a high risk of abdominal catastrophe and death.
            (7) Children almost universally require high-cost medical 
        intervention following rare earth, high-powered magnet 
        ingestions.
            (8) Evidence does not exist that warning information will 
        reduce the hazard associated with the ingestion of small, 
        powerful rare-earth magnets from magnet sets.
            (9) The absence of regulatory action to reinstate standards 
        for rare earth, high-powered magnet sets requires legislative 
        action.

SEC. 3. BAN ON CERTAIN RARE EARTH MAGNETS.

    (a) Covered Rare Earth Magnet Defined.--In this section, the term 
``covered rare earth magnet'' means any individual or set of separable, 
permanent magnets that--
            (1) is made from alloys of rare earth elements;
            (2) is--
                    (A) a consumer product (as defined in section 3 of 
                the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2052)) that 
                is--
                            (i) intended, marketed, or commonly used as 
                        a manipulative or construction item for 
                        entertainment, such as puzzle working, 
                        sculpture building, mental stimulation, stress 
                        relief, or for similar entertainment;
                            (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);
            (3) 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
            (4) is or contains any individual magnet with a flux index 
        of greater than 50 kG2 mm2.
    (b) Ban on Certain Rare Earth Magnets.--Covered rare earth magnets 
shall be considered banned hazardous products under section 8 of the 
Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2057).
    (c) Effective Date.--Subsection (b) shall take effect on the date 
that is 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and shall 
apply with respect to covered rare earth magnets that are manufactured 
in or imported into the United States after the date of the enactment 
of this Act.
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