In the News: September 19, 2022

After Years Of Accidents Involving Kids, Home Elevator Firm Agrees To Recall
September 1, 2022, Washington Post
A major home elevator company agreed to fix a safety hazard that has been tied to the deaths and injuries of children,ending a lengthy pursuit by federal regulators. The deal between ThyssenKrupp Access and the Consumer Product Safety Commission requires the company to recall 16,800 residential elevators in the United States. The company will conduct safety inspections and provide repairs, according to the CPSC announcement. It comes a little more than a year after the CPSC filed a lawsuit to force the company, now known as TK Access Solutions, to take action after lengthy failed negotiations.

Commissioner Feldman Opposes The Proposed Elevator Settlement Due To Sunset Provision
September 8, 2022, cpsc.gov

Clawfoot Supply Agrees To Pay $6 Million Civil Penalty For Failure To Immediately Report Shower Seats Posing Fall And Laceration Hazards
September 15, 2022, cpsc.gov
The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that Clawfoot Supply, LLC, of Erlanger, Kentucky, has agreed to pay a $6 million civil penalty. The settlement resolves CPSC’s charges that Clawfoot Supply failed to immediately report to CPSC, as required by law, that its Wall-Mounted Teak Folding Shower Seats contained a defect that could create a substantial product hazard and created an unreasonable risk of serious injury to consumers. By a 5-0 vote, the Commission provisionally accepted the settlement agreement, subject to public comment.
Commissioner Trumka Statement
Commissioner Feldman Statement

The Costs Of Being A Perfectionist Manager
September 7, 2022, Harvard Business Review
Being a perfectionist does not mean that you are doomed as a manager. Fortunately, perfectionists are likely to be goal-focused and action-oriented and here are strategies that are aimed at helping them recalibrate their expectations.

CPSC Warns Consumers To Immediately Stop Using Male-To-Male Extension Cords Sold On Amazon.Com Due To Electrocution, Fire, And Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Hazards
September 15, 2022, cpsc.gov
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning consumers to immediately stop using and discard male-to-male extension cords sold on Amazon.com due to shock, electrocution, fire, and carbon monoxide poisoning hazards. The extension cords have two male ends (a three-prong plug) and are generally used to “back-feed” electricity to a residence during a power outage by connecting a generator to an outlet in the home. 

Clothing Textile Flammability Standard To Be Amended
September 15, 2022, Sandler, Travis, Rosenberg, P.A.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission says the proposed amendments would reduce burdens for testing laboratories by clarifying existing requirements and updating the specifications for stop thread, dry cleaning, and laundering to include options that are identifiable, permissible for use, and currently available on the market. It would also improve the consistency and reliability of flammability testing results and classifications.

Parents Warned To Look Out For Illegal And Unsafe Toys Sold In The Netherlands
September 14, 2022, IAMEXPAT
According to figures from the Dutch customs office, officials have seized almost 885.000 illegal toys since January 2019, with experts now warning parents to be on the lookout for any unsafe toys that could be on sale in the Netherlands. Toys sold in the Netherlands must pass extensive checks and requirements set out by EU guidelines. In spite of this, however, hundreds of thousands of unsafe toys have been shipped to the Netherlands over the past four years.

EU Cyber Resilience Act Sets Global Standard For Connected Products
September 15, 2022, Computer World
The European Union’s (EU’s) proposed Cyber Resilience Act will form the nucleus of a worldwide standard for connected devices and software that will impact far beyond the bloc’s borders, including in the UK, according to security experts. Laid out on 15 September 2022 by the European Commission, the act builds on the EU’s Cybersecurity Strategy and Security Union Strategy. It will ensure digital products such as wireless and wired products, and the software they run, is made more secure for consumer across the EU.

CPSC Urges Parents/Caregivers To Use Products That Are Safe For Sleep; Check Baby’s Sleep Space For Suffocation Hazards; Most Nursery Product-Related Infant Deaths Can Be Prevented
September 15, 2022, cpsc.gov
On average there are almost 100 infant deaths annually in unsafe sleep environments involving nursery products. During Baby Safety Month (September), the Consumer Product Safety Commission is urging parents and caregivers to put their babies to sleep only in products that are safe for sleep–such as bassinets, cribs and play yards. CPSC’s latest nursery product injury and death report shows most nursery-product infant deaths occurred in a cluttered sleep space, when soft bedding was added to the cribs, playpens/play yards or bassinets/cradles.   

Eight Dead After E-Scooter Showroom Fire In India
September 14, 2022, Reuters
A fire that started at an electric scooter showroom in India killed at least eight people and injured 11, in what is the deadliest such incident involving electric vehicles in the country. A spate of electric scooter fires this year has alarmed the government, which is keen to promote use of such two-wheelers in its fight against pollution. Early investigations have identified faulty battery cells and battery modules among the main causes. 

Signs Of Possible Electrical Problems In Your Home
September 13, 2022, North County Outlook
Homeowners know that all sorts of issues can affect a home. Issues can run the gamut from the merely annoying to the unsafe. Electrical issues fall into the latter category, posing a significant safety hazard if left unchecked. Learning to recognize warning signs of electrical wiring issues can greatly lower the risk of house fires. House fires pose a significant threat, as the Electrical Safety Foundation International notes that electrical malfunctions cause more than 50,000 house fires each year. 

Posted in Chemical Hazards, Children's Products, Global Developments, Home, Uncategorized