CPSC NEISS · code 1354

Marbles

Marbles: danger rank #419 of 838 is not ER-volume rank #380 of 838 (2,551 estimated ER visits a year; rising by about 13% over the last five years).

Toys & Children's Recreation CPSC NEISS through 2024

Danger score versus ER volume

Danger score versus ER volume

According to CPSC NEISS 2005-2024, Marbles ranks #419 of 838 by danger score (35/100) at ER-volume #380 of 838 (2,551/yr). They are not the same ranking.

#419
danger rank of 838
#380
ER-volume rank of 838
35/100
danger score
2,551/yr
estimated ER visits (avg)

Danger score combines injury volume, hospitalization, fatality, and five-year trend. ER volume is the average annual NEISS estimate alone. Rank 1 is highest on each list.

Where this category's danger score sits nationally

Danger score (35/100) across 838 scored CPSC product categories

35 Lower than most lower than 50% of 838 product categories

scored CPSC product categories, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more product categories. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source CPSC NEISS, PlainSafety danger-score model · 2024

Composite verdict

Composite Safety Score: 41/100

One verdict blending 4 independently-sourced dimensions from two separate CPSC systems, each benchmarked against all 838 scored product categories by percentile rather than raw value, so no single huge-volume category can dominate the scale.

C
Dimension Value National percentile Weight applied Source
Injury severity (hospitalization + fatality blend) 3 24th 35% CPSC NEISS 20-year severity index
Annual ER injury volume 2,551 51st 30% CPSC NEISS estimated annual ER-treated injuries
5-year injury trend +13% 78th 15% CPSC NEISS 5-year % change in ER-treated injuries
Consumer incident reports 2 25th 20% CPSC SaferProducts.gov public incident report count

Methodology: each dimension is ranked against the full population's p10/p25/p50/p75/p90 breakpoints and interpolated to a 0-100 percentile; the composite is the weighted average of available percentiles. See methodology for the full benchmark table.

Where 51,012 estimated ER injuries land on the body

Body-part shares from the same CPSC NEISS injury_types extract for product code 1354. Segments sum to 51,012 - a body-map mix, not a danger score or ER-volume rank.

Two danger lenses

Same-group peer scores and this product's dial

The bars compare PlainSafety danger scores inside the Toys & Children's Recreation group (same CPSC NEISS extract). The dial is this product's score alone on the Low/Moderate/High bands. Do not read a peer bar as an ER-visit count.

Toys & Children's Recreation danger scores

1. Kites Or Kite String46/1002. Skateboards, Unpowered Or…43/1003. Fireworks43/1004. Toys, Not Elsewhere Class…40/1005. Toys, Not Specified39/1006. Toy Guns With Projectiles38/1007. Building Sets38/1008. Marbles35/100
Higher score = higher composite danger in this group. Peer set is other scored products sharing the same CPSC group.
0/100100/10035/100
PlainSafety danger score · Marbles

Source: CPSC NEISS danger-score model As of 2024

How this 35/100 score is built

The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for marbles - no opinion, no editorializing:

  • Injury volume 2,551 ER visits/yr Above median volume
  • Severity (hospitalization rate) 3.0% Low admission rate
  • Fatality rate 0.00% No recorded fatalities
  • 5-year trend+13%

Band labels compare this category against the corpus of 838 scored CPSC product categories, see the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.

What the CPSC Data Shows

Across the 20-year NEISS window from 2005 to 2024, injury counts for marbles are rising by about 13% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2006 (3,606 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2013 (1,638 estimated visits). The single most common ER diagnosis is ingestion to the internal, accounting for approximately 38,288 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by foreign body to the face (3,306 cases). The 0-4 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 26,320 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 3.0% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.

Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 2 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how marbles fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.

Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)

2K2K3K3K4K4K 20052008201120142017202020232024 3K
Estimated annual emergency-room visits for Marbles, CPSC NEISS

Source: CPSC NEISS national injury estimates As of 2024

Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only

Who Gets Injured?

Age Group Male Female Total
0-4 15,201 11,119 26,320
5-14 13,637 7,257 20,894
15-24 550 174 724
25-34 446 311 757
35-44 360 64 424
45-54 377 219 596
55-64 337 332 669
65-74 124 244 368
75+ 139 120 259

Most Common Injuries

Body Part Diagnosis Est. Injuries
Internal Ingestion 38,288
Face Foreign Body 3,306
Ear Foreign Body 2,022
Internal Aspiration 1,629
Lower Trunk Foreign Body 875
Finger Laceration 430
Pubic Region Foreign Body 415
Face Laceration 272
Eyeball Contusions, Abr. 240
Head Internal Injury 181
Pubic Region Other 155
Toe Contusions, Abr. 153
Hand Laceration 151
Eyeball Other 146
Lower Trunk Strain, Sprain 145

Severity Breakdown

Treated/examined And Released 95.2% (48,563)
Treated And Admitted/hospitalized 2.2% (1,125)
Left Without Being Seen 1.6% (814)
Treated And Transferred 0.9% (450)
Held For Observation 0.1% (60)

ER Visit Narratives

Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.

Age 3 · Female · Face · Foreign Body · 2024

3YOF PRESENTS TO ED FOR FOREIGN BODY IN NOSE. PT MOM FOUND PT PICKING NOSE TRYING TO GET MARBLE OUT OF NOSE. MARBLES ARE 5 MM IN DIAMETER. SOME ARE MAGNETIC NO ONE WITNESSED SWALLOWING OR INSERTION. DX: FOREIGN BODY IN NOSE

Age 8 · Male · Internal · Ingestion · 2024

8YOM SWALLOWED A MARBLE DX: FOREIGN BODY INGESTION

Age 3 · Male · Face · Foreign Body · 2024

3YOM,PLAYING WITH SISTER TOOK ROUND MARBLE AND PLACE NOSTRIL,DX:FB NOSTRIL

Age 2 · Female · Internal · Ingestion · 2024

2YOF SWALLOWED A MARBLE DX: FOREIGN BODY INGESTION

Age 3 · Male · Internal · Ingestion · 2024

3 YOM. SWALLOWED A MARBLE. DX: SWALLOWED FOREIGN BODY

Age 3 · Male · Internal · Ingestion · 2024

3YOM PRESENTS TO THE ED AFTER THE PATIENT SWALLOWED A MARBLE. DX: SWALLOWED FOREIGN BODY

Age 6 · Male · Internal · Ingestion · 2024

6YOM PRESENTS WITH NO STATED INJURY AFTER PARENTS FOUND MULTIPLE DECORATIVE GLASS MARBLES FROM THE GRADEN IN HIS STOOL; UNKNOWN HOW MANY HE MAY HAVE INGESTED DX: INGESTION OF FOREIGN BODY

Age 4 · Male · Internal · Ingestion · 2024

4YOM, BROUGHT IN BY MOTHER WHO BELIEVES THAT HE SWALLOWED A MARBLE, ACTING HIMSELF DX: FOREIGN BODY IN DIGESTIVE TRACT

Age 5 · Female · Internal · Ingestion · 2024

5YOF PRESENTS WITH GAGGING AFTER SWALLOWING A MARBLE. DX: SWALLOWED FOREIGN BODY

Age 5 · Male · Internal · Ingestion · 2024

5YOM ACCIDENTALLY SWOLLED A MARBLE DX: FOREIGN BODY INGESTION

Age 3 · Male · Face · Foreign Body · 2024

3YOM PRESENTS WITH MARBLE STUCK IN PT NOSE FOR 3 HOURS. DX: FOREIGN BODY IN NOSE

Age 10 · Male · Internal · Ingestion · 2024

10YOM SWALLOWED A MARBLE DX: FOREIGN BODY INGESTION *

Consumer Incident Reports

Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.

4/25/2019 · Incident, No Injury · IMPERIAL TOY LLC · Minnesota

The product is called 50 Marbles Manufactured by Imperial Toy LLC 2015 Imperial Toy LLC Made in China The submitter is reporting the product for posing a laceration hazard. Two marbles shattered while three 6 to 7 year old girls were playing. She indicated that the girls had been playing for about 5 minutes. The girls were using the large marble to hit the smaller marbles and the impact of the large marble hitting the smaller marble caused the 3 smaller marble to shatter. Three marbles shattered in 5 minutes. She is concerned that the pieces of glass can injure a child. She returned the product to the retail store and doesn’t have any product info but indicated that the product is sold in all retail chain stores. She reported the incident to the store manager and suggested they remove the item. She indicated that the product has the 50 marbles inside a plastic netting bag and it is intended for children 5 years and up. The product includes 49 small marbles and 1 large marble. Address on label: Imperial Toy LLC North Hills, CA 91343 Website listed on label: Imperialtoy.com Package says it meets CPSC safety requirements. [REDACTED]

1/5/2014 · Unspecified · RMS INTERNATIONAL USA · Nebraska

Marbles we purchased for our children break easily causing potential injuries from broken glass. We placed the marbles in a cloth bag for storage and when opening the bag after setting it on our carpeted floor we noticed small pieces of glass mixed in with the marbles. We then found some of the marbles were damaged and broke with minor contact with other marbles.

Product Recalls

Search for active and past recalls related to marbles on the CPSC website.

Compare beyond Toys & Children's Recreation

Nationwide peers by danger score, ER volume & hospitalization

Three PlainSafety-derived comparison paths for Marbles: cross-group products nearest on danger score (35/100), estimated annual ER visits (2,551/yr), and hospitalization share (3.0%). Same-group neighbours stay in Related Products above.

Read with this product

About this data

CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports form the basis of this page. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments.

According to PlainSafety's CPSC NEISS corpus ranking, Marbles ranks #419 of 838 scored CPSC product categories by PlainSafety danger score and #380 of 838 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does marbles rank on danger score versus ER volume?

Among 838 scored CPSC product categories, marbles ranks #419 by PlainSafety danger score (35/100) and #380 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume (2,551/yr). The two rankings come from the same NEISS extract and are not the same order.

What are the most common injuries from marbles?

The most common injury is ingestion to the internal, accounting for approximately 38,288 injuries over 20 years.

Are injuries from marbles increasing or decreasing?

Up 13% over 5 years.

Who is most at risk for marbles injuries?

The 0-4 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 26,320 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.

What happens when someone is injured by marbles?

Of all ER visits involving marbles, approximately 3.0% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (97.0%) are treated and released from the emergency department.

How can I report a safety problem with marbles?

You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.

Data on Marbles is compiled directly from CPSC NEISS and SaferProducts.gov records, current through 2024. See our methodology for details.

Disclaimer: This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.

PlainSafety is rendered directly from U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recall and incident records, no number is typed in by an editor. Product recall timelines and hazard labels are drawn from CPSC recall records for this product. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.