Health Canada Affirms Compliance with ASTM Standard

Health Canada says free-standing clothing storage units pose a danger to human health or safety if they do not conform to the 2023 edition of ASTM F2057, the consensus-based safety standard aimed at preventing tip-over incidents.

The updated safety assessment, released on Oct. 8, highlights the increased protection offered by the latest standard and urges regulated parties to comply with its provisions.

Originally flagged in July 2020 as a product category of concern, free-standing clothing storage units, such as dressers, chests and armoires, have been associated with serious injuries and fatalities among children in both Canada and the United States.

Health Canada emphasizes that ASTM F2057-23 offers significantly broader protection for children across a wider age range than its 2019 predecessor, and the older edition is no longer considered sufficiently protective.

Between June 2011 and September 2024, the regulatory body received 90 incident reports related to tip-overs involving furniture. These included 12 fatalities and 42 injuries.

In the U.S., the Consumer Product Safety Commission recorded an estimated annual average of 17,800 tip-over-related emergency department visits between 2020 and 2022, including 1,800 injuries involving children and dressers. Furniture tip-overs were linked to 100 fatalities over that period.

The updated assessment focuses on units that are at least 27 inches in height, 30 pounds in weight and have a storage volume of 3.2 cubic feet or more.

Units falling below any of these thresholds, or those permanently built into a wall or structure, are excluded from the scope.

Health Canada’s assessment concludes that non-compliant units likely pose an “unreasonable hazard” during normal or foreseeable use, particularly to young children who may climb or pull on drawers. The danger includes suffocation, crushing injuries, internal organ damage, concussion or death.

It goes on to state that any free-standing clothing storage unit not meeting ASTM F2057-23, or an equivalent safety standard, may fall under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act’s general prohibition against selling or importing products that pose a danger to human health or safety.