UN RÈGLEMENT POUR DES JOUETS SÉCURITAIRES POUR LES OREILLES DE NOS ENFANTS

Abstract
The Canadian Federal Act prohibiting sale of hazardous products limits the sound level emitted by toys, equipment and other products for use by a child in learning or play to 100 dB. The scientific literature shows that this legal criteria is not safe for children regarding the risk of acquiring hearing loss. Based on a safe limit of 75 dBA, more than 85 % of the toys available on the Canadian market are not safe and may induce hearing loss and other adverse effects on the long term. There is evidence that this situation is probably the same or even worse in United States and many European countries. Toys emitting noise from explosive sources have been repeatedly demonstrated in case studies to be very harmful to hearing even after one short exposure. These toys are beyond the scope of the Canadian Act. In fact, the current Act authorizes the sale of hazardous noisy toys that may contribute to some extent to deafness in children. Two factors can explain the inefficiency of the Canadian Act : the current limit for sound level is too lax and the regulation does not include a precise and specific method for determination of the sound level produced by a given toy. Based on a review of literature and previous studies done by the Groupe d'Acoustique de l'Université de Montréal, a new regulation and a measurement method have been proposed to Consumers and Corporate Affairs Canada in order to correct those deficiencies. The limit for sound level has been set to 75 dBA, a world wide accepted safe limit, regardless of the exposure duration. Concerning the method of measurement, the Canadian Standard Association standard on noise emitted by small appliances [CSA 2107.71-Ml981] has been proposed. This paper will present the results of a review of the literature on the topic including the examination of the actual american and european countries legislations. We will also describe a proposal for a new canadian regulation for noisy toys.