Small Parts Aspiration, Ingestion, and Choking in Small Children: Findings of the Small Parts Research Project

Obtaining information on current child injury trends and their associated issues is an important factor in developing products that meet or surpass acceptable toy safety boundaries. Understanding these boundaries helps determine safe product design characteristics that reduce the risk of product-related injury. Inchcape Testing Services developed a Small Parts Aspiration, Ingestion, and Choking Hazards Research Project, independent of an ongoing consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) project. The project's purpose was to determine, independent of CPSC, whether a more stringent small parts regulatory standard was necessary and, if so, to ensure that the standard was determined objectively. This article reports on the project's findings relating to critical characteristics (size, shape, and consistency) relative to the victim's age, of objects responsible for child choking injuries and fatalities.