U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission – News Release

Release Date: July 14, 2021

Release Number: 21-165

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) today filed an administrative complaint against Amazon.com, the world’s largest retailer, to force Amazon to accept responsibility for recalling potentially hazardous products sold on Amazon.com.

“Today’s vote to file an administrative complaint against Amazon was a huge step forward for this small agency,” says Acting Chairman Robert Adler. “But it’s a huge step across a vast desert—we must grapple with how to deal with these massive third-party platforms more efficiently, and how best to protect the American consumers who rely on them.”

The complaint charges that the specific products are defective and pose a risk of serious injury or death to consumers and that Amazon is legally responsible to recall them. The named products include 24,000 faulty carbon monoxide detectors that fail to alarm, numerous children’s sleepwear garments that are in violation of the flammable fabric safety standard risking burn injuries to children, and nearly 400,000 hair dryers sold without the required immersion protection devices that protect consumers against shock and electrocution.

The Commission voted 3-1 to approve the complaint, which seeks to force Amazon, as a distributor of the products, to stop selling these products, work with CPSC staff on a recall of the products and to directly notify consumers who purchased them about the recall and offer them a full refund. Although Amazon has taken certain action with respect to some of the named products, the complaint charges that those actions are insufficient.

CPSC urges consumers to visit SaferProducts.gov to check for recalls prior to purchasing products and to report any incidents or injuries to the CPSC.

One pediatric death due to influenza is one too many. Last season, 2018-2019, there were 136 pediatric deaths reported due to flu-related illness.

From the Centers for Disease Control

Influenza-Associated Pediatric Mortality:

One influenza-associated pediatric death was reported to CDC during week 38. The death was associated with an influenza A (H3) virus and occurred during week 37 (the week ending September 14, 2019).

A total of 136 influenza-associated pediatric deaths occurring during the 2018-2019 season have been reported to CDC.

Additional information on influenza-associated pediatric deaths including basic demographics, underlying conditions, bacterial co-infections, and place of death for the current and past seasons, is available on FluView Interactive (http://gis.cdc.gov/GRASP/Fluview/PedFluDeath.html).

Child Passenger Safety Week is September 15-21, 2019

What you need to know:

• Rear-facing car seat: Birth until age 2–4.

For the best possible protection, infants and toddlers should be properly buckled in a rear-facing car seat, in the back seat, until they reach the upper weight or height limits of their seat. Check the seat owner’s manual and/or labels on the seat for weight and height limits.

• Forward-facing car seat: After outgrowing rear-facing seat and until at least age 5.

When children outgrow their rear-facing seats, they should be properly buckled in a forward-facing car seat, in the back seat, until they reach the upper weight or height limit of their seat. Check the seat owner’s manual and/or labels on the seat for weight and height limits.

• Booster seat: After outgrowing forward-facing seat and until seat belts fit properly.

Once children outgrow their forward-facing seat, they should be properly buckled in a belt positioning booster seat, in the back seat, until seat belts fit properly. Seat belts fit properly when the lap belt lays across the upper thighs (not the stomach) and the shoulder belt lays across the chest (not the neck). Proper seat belt fit usually occurs when children are about 4 feet 9 inches tall and aged 9–12.

• Seat Belt: Once seat belts fit properly without a booster seat.

Children no longer need to use a booster seat once seat belts fit properly. Seats belts fit properly when the lap belt lays across the upper thighs (not the stomach) and the shoulder belt lays across the chest (not the neck). Proper seat belt fit usually occurs when children are about 4 feet 9 inches tall and aged 9–12.

Remember, always properly buckle children age 12 years and younger in the back seat!

To learn more about child passenger safety, please visit: www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/child_passenger_safety.

Harrisonburg, VA — September 6, 2019. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, has just announced that vaping may be responsible for more than 200 reported cases of severe lung disease in the United States and possibly 2 deaths… thus far. So what is the attraction for kids and young adults?

Yesterday while driving down the main street of the town in which I live and shop, a car pulled up next to mine at a stoplight. I had my window open and the adult driver of the car next to mine had his car windows open as well. I looked to the left, and noted that he was vaping and, just then, a cloud passed out of his mouth into his car and out his window… and some of it floated into my car. I didn’t have time to shut the driver-side window. First of all, the vapor had a horrible, stale odor and made me cough. My immediate thought was, what in the world was in that pipe, bong or whatever you call it?!!! When I returned home, the news was on TV and it was all about vaping! What a coincidence!

Not happy news either: “U.S. health officials are investigating 215 possible cases of severe lung disease associated with vaping across 25 states, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said in a joint statement Friday.” (CNBC.com, August 30, 2019)

And:

“DC, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), state and local health departments, and other clinical and public health partners are investigating a multistate outbreak of severe pulmonary disease associated with e-cigarette product (devices, liquids, refill pods, and/or cartridges) use. This investigation is ongoing and has not identified a cause, but all reported cases have a history of using e-cigarette products.” (www.cdc.gov, 9/5/2019)

“E-cigarettes are devices that deliver an aerosol to the user by heating a liquid that usually contains nicotine, flavorings, and other chemicals. E-cigarettes can also be used to deliver marijuana or other substances.” (www.cdc.gov, 9/5/2019)

We have long known (since I was working at the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare in the 1970s) that the Surgeon General, head of the Public Health Service, issued a warning then that cigarettes may be harmful to your health… and now, almost 50 years on, we have e-cigarettes, another way to get your tobacco and nicotine… and vaping.. And no one knows what’s in the vapor that people are inhaling, but two people have died and others across 25 states are seriously ill with severe lung disease associated with e-cigarettes and/or vaping.

Somewhere along the line, people need to be taking responsibility for their actions:

The e-cigarette and vape manufacturers and vendors, the suppliers of flavoring chemicals (yes, they are chemicals) additives to the vaping devices may even be liable in deaths due to the use of these products. Here comes another health-related cash cow for lawyers! And another big problem for parents if their children become addicted to e-cigarettes and/or vaping. Did I mention that the American Academy of Pediatrics believes that e-cigarettes lead children to begin smoking regular cigarettes?

There’s another side to this issue beside the health issue: e-cigarettes and vaping are now contributing to medical costs across the board…and invisibly (to the consumer) raising the risk of insuring you and your family and increasing the cost of your insurance…and your family’s insurance.

Back to my original question: What is the attraction for children and young adults? Looking cool? Whatever it is, if I were a parent of teenagers right now, we would have to have a serious talk about vaping and e-cigarettes and what could possibly happen to them if they used these products that are widely available. In my father’s vernacular, the law would have to be laid down. This would not take place in our home (and hopefully, no where else) and no money for this pursuit would pass from my purse to their wallets. There would be serious consequences if they were identified as vaping or having vaped or participated in the use of e-cigarettes. And I would have to trust them not to do this and end up in the ER or worse.

So perhaps it’s up to parents–and people who care– to protest the availability of products like e-cigarettes and vaping devices that can make their kids (and others) sick.

On July 31, recognize National Heatstroke Prevention Day by educating your community about the dangers of leaving children in hot cars

Responding to a call for a child who dies of heatstroke in a hot car is one of those events that EMS and other public safety professionals never forget, and those who haven’t experienced it hope they never do. Since 1998, more thank 800 children have died from heatstroke in hot cars in the U.S., including 52 in 2018. On average, one child dies from heatstroke inside a vehicle nearly every 10 days in the U.S.

Most cases occur when a child is mistakenly left inside or gets into a vehicle unattended – and then becomes trapped. It doesn’t take an especially hot day for a child to die from heatstroke. When the outside temperature is as low as 60 degrees, the temperature inside a vehicle can reach all the way up to 110 degrees. If a child’s body temperature reaches 107 degrees, that child will die from heatstroke.

The Office of EMS encourages the EMS community to join NHTSA’s efforts to educate parents, caregivers and the public by sharing campaign materials available on https://www.nhtsa.gov/heatstroke and remembering to #checkforbaby on and off the clock.

To promote further social awareness and amplify the conversation about this vitally important safety issue, NHTSA will host a “Tweet-Up” on National Heatstroke Prevention Day. Every 15 minutes, beginning at 7 a.m. ET on July 31, NHTSA officials will post stats, prevention tips and heatstroke awareness messages using the hashtags #heatstrokekills and #checkforbaby on all the agency’s social media channels. Share these messages with your colleagues and community members to make sure they know the dangers of heatstroke.

 

More information including downloadable campaign materials and fact sheets are available online. For questions about the campaign, please contact Mike Joyce at Mike.Joyce@dot.gov or 202-366-5600.

Release Date: July 18, 2018

Release Number: 18- 191

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has approved a new federal rule intended to improve the safety of booster seats for children, including booster seats used at home and in restaurants. A booster seat is a “juvenile chair” that is placed on an adult chair to elevate a child, up to five years old, to standard dining table height.

The new rule does not include children’s booster seats intended for use in cars.

The new federal safety rule incorporates the most recent voluntary standard developed by ASTM International (ASTM F2460-18, Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Booster Seats). It also addresses a number of factors to ensure consumers know the correct way to use a booster seat and how to keep children safe while using them. Requirements in the new standard include:

• The retail package of the booster seat must indicate the minimum dimensions of the adult chair on which the booster seat will fit.
• All booster seats must have an active means of attaching to an adult chair, in order to prevent booster seats and children from falling off of the adult chair.
• Warnings on the booster seat must remind consumers to make sure the booster seat is securely fastened to the adult chair before each use.
• To prevent falls, consumers are also warned to stop children from pushing away from the table while in the booster seat.

CPSC is aware of a total of 912 incidents, including two fatalities, related to booster seats, occurring between January 1, 2008 and October 31, 2017. Falls out of booster seats resulting in injuries to the head are the most common injury hazard. Other hazard patterns associated with booster seats include restraint/attachment problems, seat-related issues, including lock/latch failures, and tray and design problems.

This rule will become effective 18 months after date of publication in the Federal Register and applies to products manufactured or imported on or after that date. This rule will make it illegal to sell products in the United States that do not meet the regulation.

The Commission is required by Section 104(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (the Danny Keysar Child Product Safety Notification Act) to issue consumer product safety standards for durable infant or toddler products. The Commission has approved new federal safety standards for several durable infant or toddler products, including full-size cribs, non-full-size cribs, play yards, baby walkers, baby bath seats, children’s portable bed rails, strollers, toddler beds, infant swings, handheld infant carriers, soft infant carriers, framed infant carriers, bassinets, cradles, portable hook-on chairs, infant sling carriers, infant bouncer seats, high chairs and baby changing products.

The Commission voted 4 to 0 to approve the standard on June 26, 2018.

About U.S. CPSC

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical or mechanical hazard. CPSC’s work to ensure the safety of consumer products – such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters and household chemicals–contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 40 years.

Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a publicly-announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory recall ordered by the Commission.

For more lifesaving information, follow us on Facebook, Instagram @USCPSC and Twitter @USCPSC or sign up to receive our e-mail alerts. To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury go online to www.SaferProducts.gov or call CPSC’s Hotline at 800-638-2772 or teletypewriter at 301-595-7054 for the hearing impaired.

CPSC Consumer Information Hotline

Contact us at this toll-free number if you have questions about a recall:

800-638-2772 (TTY 301-595-7054)

Times: 8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. ET; Messages can be left anytime

Call to get product safety and other agency information and to report unsafe products.

Summer is coming! Barbeques, picnics, fishing and camping trips, days at the beach, family reunions, wedding receptions…and more. There are plenty of activities where you may be served food out of doors! In the heat… The longer perishable food stands out… the quicker it will become less palatable and more dangerous! Yes, dangerous to those who may consume it because bacteria like food too! Observing all the rules of good food safety are even more important when refrigeration might not be at its peak! So what can you do?

Make sure to have enough ice, ice blocks, keep-cold bags, heavy duty aluminum foil and cold water on hand, for your cooler or to chill the foods you will serve cold. This may take preparation… Every kind of “dollar” store carries ice blocks, so does Walmart. Bags of ice can be purchased at the grocery or convenience store and toted in a cooler!

Make sure to refrigerate foods as long as possible before serving and when people are done helping themselves at a table, cover and place food in the refrigerator or cooler until it’s time for second helpings–especially in the case of foods containing mayonnaise or mayonnaise-based salad dressings, for instance, potato, chicken, tuna, shrimp or egg salads…or sandwiches made with mayo. The same is true for meat, poultry and fish! Make sure it’s thoroughly cooked and served hot and don’t let it stand out after serving and guests have helped themselves, refrigerate and reheat in the microwave if necessary. Don’t leave it out.

If you are carrying food in a cooler long distances, check it periodically to make sure the ice or ice blocks are still frozen! Replace with more ice if not! Wrapping foods in foil when you place them in the cooler helps too!

Make sure not to re-freeze thawed raw meat, poultry or fish. It’s just not a good idea. If you marinate raw (meat, poultry, fish) food, please do place it in the refrigerator while marinating.

Also, if something is past its sell-by or recommended use-by date, chuck it in the trash! It’s not worth getting sick over it.

Wash fruit, lettuce and other vegetables, especially those served raw, thoroughly before cooking, serving or consuming! (You can even wash the skin of potatoes, cucumbers and melons.)

Make sure to wash your hands when you prepare food, before you begin preparing a dish, and in between touching raw eggs, meat, poultry or fish and other foods, utensils that have touched food and counter and prep surfaces. (It might sound like a lot of hand washing, but it’s worth it!) And then, wash your hands afterward before you touch anything else, so you don’t cross-contaminate other food, utensils, etc. (Make sure not to use the same utensils when preparing different meat, poultry and fish or other foods.) Make sure the pots and pans you use are clean and dish towels if you use them as well… Clean paper towels are preferable to dish towels. If your dish sponge is dirty, ditch it! You can even put dish brushes in the dishwasher with the dishes regularly!

Doing these things will help to reduce the chance of you, your family and your guests getting a foodborne illness! Enjoy your summer!