WASHINGTON, DC–(ENEWSPF)–November 24, 2009 – Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-IL, released the following statement in response to a voluntary recall of more than 2.1 million cribs ordered by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The recall involves approximately 1,213,000 units distributed in the United States and 968,000 units distributed in Canada. Rep. Schakowsky is a lead co-sponsor of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, HR 4040, which seeks to improve product safety through prevention and increased authority. Speifically, Rep. Schakowsky fought for provisions that require crib and children product testing.
“The crib recall announced today is a perfect illustration for why we passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act last August. The law requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue mandatory safety standards for cribs and bassinets. I know the CPSC is currently working on establishing those standards, but I am encouraging Chairman Tenenbaum to make it a major priority. Any space where infants and toddlers spend hours every day, by themselves, must be a safe space. My heart goes out to the families whose children have been injured or killed by dangerous cribs. Such deaths are entirely preventable and absolutely inexcusable.”
According to a CPSC press release, “CPSC, Health Canada, and Stork Craft are aware of 110 incidents of drop-side detachment; 67 incidents occurred in the United States and 43 in Canada. The incidents include 15 entrapments; 12 in the U.S. and three in Canada. Four of the entrapments resulted in suffocation: a 7-month-old in Gouverneur, N.Y.; a 7-month-old in New Iberia, La.; a 6-month-old in Summersville, W.Va.; and a 9-month-old in Bronx, N.Y. Included in these incidents are 20 falls from cribs; 12 in the U.S. and eight in Canada. Fall injuries ranged from concussion to bumps and bruises. The cribs involved in these incidents had plastic drop-side hardware that had broken, missing, or deformed claws, connectors, tracks, or flexible tab stops; loose or missing metal spring clips; stripped screws; and/or drop-sides installed upside-down.”
Source: schakowsky.house.gov
