KCA News & Media
Press Release
Press Release
| Injuries to Children from Swallowing Magnets continue to increase | |||||||||
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| Date | 2011-06-08 | Hit | 2005 | ||||||
Injuries to Children from Swallowing Magnets
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Special caution is required as the number of child injury due to magnet swallowing continues to occur.
Injuries to children from ingesting magnets are on the continued rise. According to the Korea Consumer Agency (President: Kim Young-seen, www.kca.go.kr), the magnet swallowing injuries to children reported to its Consumer Injury Surveillance System (CISS) from 2003 to Feb. of 2011 stood at 116 cases (yet, 137 cases when injury cases (21 cases) of magnets inserted up the nose are included). When a child swallows two or more strong magnets, they can attract to one another across the intestine. The magnets become to compress the intestine, causing holes, blockage, and infection in the intestine and blood poisoning, which can be fatal if severe.
Back in late Dec. in 2010, the Korean Government established and made a public announcement of safety standard for magnets for child products, which are nearly at the level of that for advanced nations. Yet, number of magnet swallowing injury to children is highly likely to continue its growth, as interim measure was taken for magnet products manufactured or imported before the official announcement to be applied to formal regulation. Also, there is a necessity for enforcement of the notification to be put forward in light of purpose of the Framework Act on Consumer and the Fundamental Act on Product Security, which is a product with serious defect should be recalled.
The KCA issued a consumer safety alert on child injury of swallowing small-sized but strong magnets and advised parents to pay extra caution about child use of magnets. Moreover, the Agency urged manufacturers and importers of hazardous magnets to conduct a voluntary recall to prevent more child injuries.
Date of News Report Release : April 6, 2011
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Supplementary Coverage
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Seong-sik Lee, Head of Injury Information Team (☎ 02-3460-3461)
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Hae-gak Lee, Deputy Director of Injury Information Team (☎ 02-3460-3462)
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