Adoption of HDXRF by ASTM Toy Safety Subcommittee for Heavy Metals Testing

The ASTM F15.22 Toy Safety Committee published revisions to its U.S. Toy Safety Standard, F963-16, covering the safety of all toys sold in the United States. It is expected that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) will soon adopt these changes into its mandatory toy safety standards. Key among the new changes is a provision allowing for the use of High-Definition X-Ray Fluorescence (HDXRF), to measure the presence of toxic heavy metals in plastics in toys. This will make toy testing faster, less costly, and more flexible, thereby facilitating the testing of toys to ensure they do not contain lead or other toxic metals.