Consumer Product Agency Issues Warning on Small Magnetic Balls Linked to Deaths

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning about the danger of high-powered, pea-sized magnets found in toys, announcing one company’s recall of a set containing them and saying it was aware of seven deaths linked to their ingestion. The federal agency estimated that ingestion of the magnets led to 2,400 hospital emergency room visits from 2017-2021 in addition to the deaths, two of which it said occurred outside the United States. “Consumers should stop using the recalled magnetic balls immediately, (and) take them away from children,” the commission said in an online notice. Made from rare-earth metals, each ball measures five millimeters....