This week in safety

A cry for more oversight over food and other consumer products is increasing in volume as Americans look ahead to changes in Washington. Today Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, urged the Food & Drug Administration to move quickly to expand testing of infant formula for melamine and related compounds.  Consumers Union noted that the FDA posted new test data on infant formula on December 22, which showed that a melamine derivative, cyanuric acid, had been found in two additional samples of formula—bringing the total to 4 contaminated samples out of 89 tested. CU outlined its concerns in a letter to officials. Earlier in the week, The New York Times urged the incoming president to appoint someone to champion consumers' interests.

A Voice for the Consumer
The New York Times
The time has come to give the American consumer a much stronger voice in Washington. President-elect Barack Obama has already named what amounts to an energy and environmental czar in the White House, and America’s beleaguered consumers deserve no less. Read more ...

Officials fear rise in carbon monoxide poisoning
MSNBC
Severe winter weather and a stormy economy could combine to make one of the season’s common killers, carbon monoxide poisoning, even worse this year, public health and safety officials say. Read more ...

How to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning
MSNBC
Unless suspected, carbon monoxide poisoning can be difficult to diagnose because the symptoms mimic other illnesses. People who are sleeping or intoxicated can die from carbon monoxide poisoning before ever experiencing symptoms. Read more ...

Philadelphia can learn from D.C. no-lead law
The Philadelphia Inquirer
What if landlords and property owners had to show that their rental properties do not present a lead-poisoning hazard before a family with a young child moves in? That is precisely what's required by legislation that the Washington City Council passed last month. Washington's mayor is expected to sign this groundbreaking bill into law next week. Read more ...

Phthalate ban in children's products now in force in California
Mercury News
Despite recent saber rattling between state and federal officials, a new California law takes effect today that effectively bans the sale of toys and other children's products containing phthalates. Read more ...

Don't miss these recalls

• 64,000 Taunton Press wiring how-to books (faulty instructions)
• 10,000 Viking Range 4-slice toasters (shock hazard)
• 55,000 Ms. Bubbles blue-denim girls jackets (strangulation hazard)

Treadmills can pose serious risks for toddlers

As reported in the February issue of Consumer Reports, home exercise equipment can save you a trip to the gym. But if you’re not careful, it could send you or your child to the emergency room. Trips and falls may be an obvious risk, especially to the over-eager runner who tries to ramp up to high speeds too soon. That’s why it’s important to start slow and always wear the safety clip that shuts off the machine automatically in the event of a fall.

Parents may be surprised to learn that exercise machines such as treadmills pose special risks to toddlers and young children, who account for the greatest percentage of serious injuries. Emergency rooms around the country are reporting a growing number of severe burns on the hands and fingers of young children who reach down or under and touch the treadmill belt when it’s running. Though some incidents occur when unsupervised children are playing with unlocked equipment, many occur when children approach from behind as a parent is using the equipment. Curious hands that reach out and touch the moving belt or reach under the machine can suffer excruciating burns that can require multiple skin grafts and cause permanent disability.

Treadmills aren’t the only problem. Other types of exercise equipment with moving parts can be dangerous for little ones and adults alike. Keep kids away from equipment when it's in use. When it's not, unplug the machine and, if possible, lock it up. Not all equipment comes with locks—if you're in the market for a machine and have small children at home, you should consider this safety feature.

For more information, read "How to choose a treadmill," which includes a video buying guide. And if you would like to share a story about your own treadmill travails or other safety issues related to home exercise equipment, please comment below.

How often do you chance risky behavior?

How many times have you come to a "rolling" rather than a full stop at a stop sign, driven over the speed limit, or gone biking without a helmet? Too often, if you're like many of the folks surveyed recently by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. Of the 1,000 Americans asked about risky behaviors, 50 percent often or occasionally fail to come to full stop, 69 percent sometimes drive 10 miles-per-hour over the speed limit on highways and 58 percent of cyclists fail to wear a helmet while riding a bike.

We know we can be nannyish at times but the statistics back us up. For example, 92 percent of bicyclists killed in 2007 reportedly weren't wearing a helmet, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which notes that helmet use has been estimated to reduce risk of head injury by 85 percent.

In a report on the survey in the February issue of Consumer Reports, the editors highlight the things people do that they shouldn't (text while driving, leave items on the stairs) and the things they don't do that they should (unplug toasters, use hearing protection while mowing). To see where you fit in with those surveyed, read the full report.

Next month, we'll write about the results from the second half of the risky-behavior survey. (Sneak preview: Too many of you are putting cotton swabs inside your ears.)

Jardine recalls an additional 56,450 cribs with defective slats

After getting 19 new reports of crib slats breaking, Jardine is recalling 56,450 cribs sold by Babies 'R' Us, expanding its recall from last June when 320,000 cribs were recalled for that reason.

According to the recall notice issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the agency has received 19 additional incidents of crib slats breaking. In nine of these incidents, parents reported that their infant or toddler broke the slat while in the crib. In addition, a 22-month-old child fell through the gap between the crib slats when a slat broke. These incidents are in addition to the 42 reports of crib slats and spindles breaking that led to the original recall. In those, four children became entrapped in the space created by a broken slat or spindle and two of the children had abrasions and bruising.

Owners of Jardine cribs should check both the first and second recall notices to see if theirs is affected by the recall. They were sold at KidsWorld, Geoffrey Stores, Toys 'R' Us, and Babies 'R' Us stores nationwide, and at babiesrus.com, from January 2002 through January 2009 for between $150 and $330.

The CPSC advises parents to immediately stop using the recalled cribs and contact Jardine to receive a full credit toward the purchase of a new crib. Jardine will provide consumers with detailed instructions for purchasing cribs in retail stores and online. Contact Jardine at (800) 646-4106 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. ET Saturday, or visit the firm's Web site.

As we reported here earlier, after the first Jardine recall, Toys 'R' Us, established its own standards for crib durability and in October began using an outside laboratory to test for structural integrity employing the stronger test methods currently used in Europe and Canada. A Toys 'R' Us spokesman said today that the cribs in the expanded recall predate those tests.

We hope this Jardine recall goes smoother than the last one when many frustrated parents wrote to us complaining about the lengthy and unwieldy process they've had to go through to get replacement cribs.

Child's death sparks investigation
The CPSC is investigating the death of a Massachusetts toddler over the holidays who became entangled in a mesh covering placed on top of his crib. According to a report in the Boston Globe, the two-year-old boy was placed in a Graco portable crib to sleep during a family vacation. Police said that the child strangled after becoming ensnared between the crib rail and a mesh top that had been placed over the portable crib.

According to news reports, the mesh top was sold separately and used with the portable crib. This sad event underscores our concerns about the risks of buying aftermarket products that may not be compatible with other baby equipment. It also give us the opportunity to repeat our adivce on crib safety: The safest crib is a naked crib.

Fan firm fined $500,000 for failing to report defect

Lasko, a company that makes portable fans and heaters, has been fined $500,000 for failing to report to the government that some of its fans could overheat, smoke, or catch fire posing fire and burn hazards. Nine people were injured and Lasko received 42 reports of fans overheating, smoking, melting, or catching fire between November 2002 and September 2005. The defect resulted in the recall of 5.6 million fans in 2006.

The 2006 recall involved various models of Lasko, Galaxy, Air King and General Electric fans manufactured between January 1999 and July 2001, and sold through February 2004 at discount department stores nationwide for between $10 and $25. An electrical failure in the motor caused the fans to malfunction. Check the original recall notice for model numbers and photos.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission, which announced the penalty, says that federal law requires firms to report to the agency immediately (within 24 hours) after obtaining information reasonably supporting the conclusion that a product contains a defect that could create a substantial product hazard, an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death, or violate any consumer product safety rule, regulation, standard or ban enforced by the CPSC. In agreeing to settle the matter, Lasko denies that it knowingly violated the law.

Consumers who may still have the recalled fans should stop using them and contact Lasko to get a free fan cord adaptor, designed to shut off the fan motor if overheating occurs. Call Lasko at (800) 984-3311 or visit the firm’s Web site.

More concerns about phthalates: Effects may be cumulative

A report released recently by a committee of the National Research Council finds that government risk assessment methods likely underestimate the effects of phthalates, a group of hormone-mimicking compounds widely used in consumer products. Responding to a request from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the committee examined the agency's current approach to assessing health risks of this large family of chemicals. The report concludes that the agency could underestimate phthalate risk if it doesn't consider the effects of combined exposure to different compounds, which can cause more serious or different toxic effects together than they would have caused individually. In other words, the sum could be worse than its parts.

Though unrelated, the report comes in the wake of the newly passed Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which bans from certain children's products three types of phthalates permanently and places a temporary ban on three others pending the results of a risk assessment by an expert panel. "Consumers can be exposed to many different phthalate compounds, so we hope this new panel will follow the report's recommendations and assess the cumulative effects of these compounds‚" says Carolyn Cairns, Program Leader for Product Safety at Consumer Reports.

Because they can upset the delicate balance of hormones, phthalate exposure during key periods of fetal development has been linked, mostly in animal studies, to a host of problems in the developing fetus. The male reproductive system is particularly at risk since phthalates interfere with androgens—male hormones like testosterone—causing defects in the position of the urethra (hypospadias is the scientific term), testicular development and fertility. Some phthalates have also been linked to liver cancer.

Phthalate compounds with different chemical structures can interfere with androgen activity in ways that are different, yet lead to the same health outcome. The report stresses that particularly for hormone-mediated effects, risk assessments should group chemicals by common outcome, regardless of the chemical structure or mechanism involved. That will mean assessing products that may contain multiple phthalates or multiple products that may be used together or frequently in ways that could compound an individual's total phthalate intake. Surprisingly, one such product may be certain types of medications.

Looking ahead while checking the rear view mirror

2008 was certainly a banner year for product safety. Despite ongoing problems with the safety of products imported from China, we made some major strides toward enhancing product safety in the future. Most importantly, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 was signed into law in August. Among other things, this massive bill will breathe some fresh air into the foundering Consumer Product Safety Commission, place tighter restrictions on how children’s products are made and sold, and require manufacturers to test children’s products before they’re sold.

Other important laws were passed in 2008. The Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act addresses some automobile dangers—it enhances rearward visibility of vehicles to prevent back-over incidents, makes power windows safer, and helps prevent the accidental roll-away of vehicles. The Children’s Gasoline Burn Prevention Act closes a loophole that had exempted gas cans from requiring child-resistant closures. In addition, the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act took effect just a two weeks ago. This bill helps eliminate drain entrapments in pools and spas, and earmarks federal funds for education campaigns to reduce drowning incidents, the second leading cause of accidental death for children ages 1 to 14.

Consumers Union helped to get these laws passed by testifying before congressional committees, discussing the issues with congressional representatives and their staffs on a regular basis, speaking out at press conferences on Capitol Hill, and engaging our consumer activists to help push our safety agenda. And of course, we used the power of the media, including this blog, to keep consumers informed.

There’s more to do. In the year ahead we will continue to actively watch how the new administration enforces the safety laws. We will continue to push for new regulations that will make vehicles safer. We will work to develop stronger safety standards for children’s products, including cribs. And we will focus our efforts on enhancing the safety of our food supply to prevent contamination from chemicals such as melamine and from bacteria like salmonella. We’re pleased with the safety achievements of 2008 and look forward to meeting the challenges of 2009.

Happy New Year!

Happy holidays from the safety blog team

When we first started this blog more than two years ago, we wondered whether we'd have enough material about safety issues to provide regular postings. But then came a steady flow of recalls of toys and other children's products, contaminated foods, and defective auto parts. We quickly discovered the inability of our government agencies to stem the tide of unsafe goods imported from China. We bemoaned the lack of regulations that would allow such unsafe products to be sold in our marketplace and the inadequate funding that left agencies unable to fully do their jobs.

Now, nearly 500 blog postings later, we find we have no shortage of topics. Our goal is to deliver you the product-safety news you can use to protect yourself and your family. Although you might not always agree with our opinions and analysis, the mission of the blog remains true to Consumers Union -- to work for a fair, just, and safe marketplace for all consumers and to empower consumers to protect themselves.

The nation is on the cusp of change. Though we realize that we live in one of the safest countries in the world, we look forward to an even safer marketplace in the future. And at this year's end, we pause to reflect on what we have, and to wish you all a happy and safe holiday season.

From the Consumers Union Safety Blog team:
Don Mays -- Director
Mary Farrell
Bob Williams
Jonea Gurwitt
Carolyn Cairns