TISI upgrades safety standards of toys, playground equipment

“The move would also encourage local toy manufacturers to meet international standards, as well as boosting its capability to compete in the global market” he added.
The secretary general said that the Industrial Product Council had approved the new standards which will be promulgated early this 2020.
Toys currently on sales in the market, he said, come in various forms and made of different materials, adding that the improvement of TISI standard number 685-2540 will shield the effect of harmful chemicals from the toys.
It includes a check of phthalates, a cancer-causing chemical used in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic manufacturing to soften up the plastics.
“The use of low-quality phthalates means that the chemical may peel off the toys, posing a health risk to the users in long term,” he explained.
As a precaution, toys made for infants under three years old which may come into contact with their mouths, must now contain no more than 0.1 per cent of phthalates per compound.
Moreover, the TISI has lowered the maximum amount of heavy metals in some toys from 90 to 10 grams of mercury while arsenic is cut from 25 to 10 milligrams.
In addition, the secretary general said that TISI had set two new standards for swing and slider as children had been harmed while playing with sub-standard playground equipment.
“These new standards will be promulgated in the beginning of this year” he said.
TISI will also issue new standards for carousel and rocking equipment to cover all kind of playground facilities".