"Not only am I the Chairman of the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, but I'm also a father of two young daughters. And as we move into our new house, we now are going through it to check and make sure that its as safe as possible for our children. Everyone, whether they live in a new house or an old house, should take some time to go through their house and make sure they've made it as safe as possible for their family. As parents we all want to make our house just as safe as we can for our children, whether its cutting cords on window blinds or removing hazardous substances. These kinds of things reap great benefits as far as making our house safe for our kids."TEXT: Young children are irresistibly drawn to water, and tragically an average of 115 children a year drown in bathtubs, buckets, toilets, spas, hot tubs and other containers of water.
Each year, there are about 3,800 injuries and 34 deaths due to excessively hot water. The average adult can suffer third-degree burns in as little as two seconds, if exposed to 150º water.
(View of the Chairman checking his furnace. View of his daughter washing her hands in bathroom sink.)
TEXT: Keep medicines and household chemicals locked-up and out of sight. Each year, poisonings kill about 30 children and cause about 1 million calls to poison centers.
CPSC knows of over 200 strangulation deaths to children since 1980. Window blinds with looped pull cords and inner cords must be repaired. Call the Window Covering Safety Council for free repair kit: 1-800-506-4636, or go to their web site at www.windowcoverings.org.
(View of the Chairman's wife adapting window blind cords.)
TEXT: Prevent electrocutions by installing a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) in your household outlets. Installation of the device could prevent thousands of burn and electric shock injuries each year.
Simply driving a nail through a wall to hang a picture can pierce a wire and create a serious hazard called an electrical arc. Unlike fuses and ordinary circuit breakers, this new technology can detect sparking, trip the circuit, and stop the way many electrical fires get started.
(View of Chairman testing).
TEXT: Fire is the second leading cause of unintentional death in the home. Each year, about 3,000 people die in residential fires. While about 90 percent of U.S. households have smoke alarms, 20 percent of those smoke alarms - about 16 million-do not work, mostly because of dead or missing batteries.
Consumers should get a smoke detector that meets the requirements of a recognized testing lab, such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL). Place it outside of sleeping areas and inside of bedrooms on each level of the home. Check the batteries monthly, and replace the batteries at least once a year.
(Views of a smoke detector).
Text: Install a carbon monoxide (CO) alarm outside of every separate sleeping area of the home.
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, poisonous gas that kills about 200 people a year from consumer products. CO is produced by fuel-burning furnaces, ranges, water heaters, charcoal used in homes and cars running in an enclosed garage.
Prevent CO poisoning by having heating systems inspected and serviced annually. Have chimneys and flues checked for blockages, corrosion, and loose connections. (Views of the Chairman and his daughter testing their home carbon monoxide detector).
End.