Neodymium Magnet Safety

The neodymium magnets we sell are extremely strong.  They must be handled with care to avoid personal injury or damage to the magnets.

Powerful attraction forces can cause serious injury.

Neodymium magnets are more powerful than other kinds of magnets.  The incredibly powerful force between magnets can often be surprising to those unfamiliar with their strength.

Place two magnets close to each other, even small ones, and they will attract, leap towards each other with great acceleration and then slam together. Many of the magnets we supply are made from neodymium; this means they are among the strongest magnets in the world and the force at which they attract to steel and each other can cause serious injury if necessary safety precautions are not followed. It is easy to get caught out by magnets and lack of concentration is the single biggest cause of injury when handling magnets.

• Always wear safety goggles when handling large magnets.
• Always wear gloves when handling magnets to prevent pinching.
• Children should NEVER be allowed to play with NEODYMIUM magnets.
• Keep magnets at least 20cm away from sensitive electronic and storage devices.

Neodymium magnets are not for children.

Children should NEVER be allowed to play with NEODYMIUM magnets. Even relatively small magnets can cause blood blisters and cuts and tiny magnets can cause serious injury if swallowed.
If more than one magnet is swallowed, they can attract each other through the walls of the intestines, get stuck and pinch the digestive tract causing major swelling and even life-threatening injuries requiring surgery. Always keep all neodymium magnets out of the reach of children.

Neodymium magnets can affect pacemakers.

Magnets could affect the functioning of pacemakers and implanted heart defibrillators.

• A pacemaker could switch into test mode and cause illness.
• A heart defibrillator may stop working.
• If you wear these devices keep sufficient distance to magnets.
• Warn others who wear these devices from getting too close to magnets.

Neodymium magnets are brittle and fragile.

Magnets slamming together is the most common cause of broken magnets and it is possible that one or both magnets could chip or shatter. Due to the force exerted by the magnets, it is possible that chips may fly off at high speed into someone’s eye, therefore we advise that when handling more than one neodymium magnet that you wear eye protection. Chips and broken magnets can also be quite sharp, so treat them as carefully as you would broken glass.

Magnets can affect magnetic media.

The strong magnetic fields near neodymium magnets can damage magnetic media such as floppy disks, credit cards, magnetic I.D. cards, cassette tapes, video tapes or other such devices. They can also damage televisions, VCRs, computer monitors and CRT displays. Avoid placing neodymium magnets near electronic appliances.

Neodymium magnets can become demagnetized at high temperatures.

While operating temperatures are often listed as 80°C (175°F), the actual maximum operating temperature of a magnet can vary depend on the grade, magnet shape and how it is used.

Neodymium magnet powder or dust is flammable.

Avoid drilling or machining neodymium magnets.  When ground into a dust or powder, this material is highly flammable.

Those with nickel allergies should avoid prolonged contact with magnets.

A small percentage of people have a nickel allergy, where an allergic reaction can cause redness and a skin rash.  Those with nickel allergies should avoid directly handling nickel plated neodymium magnets.

Strong magnetic fields can interfere with compasses and navigation.

Magnetic fields of improperly packaged magnets could influence airplane navigation devices. In the worst case it could lead to an accident. Airfreight magnets only in packaging with sufficient magnetic shielding. IATA (International Air Transport Association) and US Federal rules and regulations cover shipping magnets by air and ground delivery.

Neodymium magnets can corrode.

Neodymium magnets can rust or corrode in the presence of moisture.  While the three layer, nickel-copper-nickel plating on most of our magnets provides enough protection for many applications, they are not waterproof.  If used underwater, outdoors or in a moist environment, they can corrode and lose magnetic strength.