Sen. Farley Reports Senate Passes Bill to Protect Children From Jewelry Made WITH Harmful Materials

State Senator Hugh T. Farley (R, C, I – Schenectady) reported the New York State Senate recently passed legislation that creates comprehensive safety requirements for children’s jewelry to prevent exposure to harmful materials. The bill (S3947) regulates heavy metals, magnets, and batteries in jewelry intended for use by children aged 12 and younger, consistent with the federal Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.

Children can be exposed to harmful substances in jewelry by accidentally swallowing a piece of jewelry or by putting it in their mouth. When the jewelry becomes bitten, scratched, or damaged - which is likely with continued use by young children - exposure risk increases.

Known as the Comprehensive Children's Jewelry Safety Act, the bill would require all children’s jewelry manufactured, sold or distributed in New York to meet the standards recently adopted by the American Society for Testing and Materials International (ASTM). The legislation incorporates the ASTM standard by limiting cadmium, lead, heavy metals, and nickel, and enacts new requirements for magnets and batteries in jewelry designed or intended primarily for children 12 and under.

New York, as one of the centers of the U.S. jewelry industry, would join Rhode Island as the second state to adopt the federal standard for children's jewelry safety.

The bill has been sent to the Assembly.