CPSC Issues New Standards for Water Bead Toys to Prevent Child Injuries, Deaths

New rule limits size of water beads and the amounts of toxic chemicals they are allowed to contain, since some may increase cancer risks.

Over the past 10 years, more than 8,000 children have suffered choking, asphyxiation, intestinal obstructions and other devastating injuries from water bead toys, leading federal regulators to issue new safety standards for small spheres that rapidly grow in size when exposed to liquid.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) approved new requirements for water bead toys sold on the U.S. market on August 21, following years of concerns about the risks the products pose children.

Water Bead Ingestion Risks

Water beads are small balls made of polyacrylamide and polyacrylate. When exposed to liquid they expand up to 400 times in size. The bright colors are enticing to young children, who often swallow the water beads or shove them into their ears or nose, which can lead to serious medical situations that could require emergency care and surgery.

Since 2016, more than 8,000 water bead injuries have been reported, resulting in more than 6,300 emergency room visits and the death of a 10-month old girl in 2023. The next year the CPSC warned consumers to stop using the toys, due to the risk they pose to young children.

Last year, a group of senators introduced legislation to ban the sale of water bead toys in the U.S., noting that, in addition to choking and obstruction risks, some water beads contain toxic chemicals, such as cancer-causing acrylamide, also posing a risk of toxic poisoning.

Research published late last year warned that the number of injuries only continues to rise since the toys remain on the U.S. market. Doctors commonly perform emergency surgery to remove the beads from the intestinal tract, with most of the patients being under 14 months old. More than 80% of children need surgery after swallowing the beads.

The new standards were passed this month in a 2-0 vote by the commission, which pledged to remove any water beads from the market that do not meet the requirements.

Those standards include setting a maximum expansion size for water beads, requiring them to be small enough to prevent blockages if ingested or placed in orifices. The CPSC is also limiting the amount of acrylamide used in water beads to reduce toxic exposure risks, and requires prominent, “strongly worded” warnings on the packages about the potential risks.

 “CPSC will intervene when the evidence is clear, and the danger is real.  This standard will make a meaningful difference in protecting young children.”

– CPSC Acting Chairman Peter A. Feldman

The rule takes effect 90 days after publication in the Federal Register.

In the meantime, the CPSC recommends safety tips for parents and caregivers:

• Make sure to remove water beads from any area where young children may be present or play.
• Store water beads in a secure container and location, where young children can’t easily access them.
• Do not allow children to play with water beads unsupervised.
• If any other toy contains water beads, such as a ball filled with water leads, throw away the toy if the beads start to come out.
• After using water beads, clean the area and remove any beads that may have rolled away. Water beads can easily scatter, roll, and become lost.

The CPSC also warns that some water beads are not marketed as children’s toys and are marketed to adults. These products fall outside the scope of the new rule and should be kept out of spaces where children live or play.