Window Blinds Recalled
W A S H I N G T O N, Nov. 1 -- Hundreds of millions ofwindow blinds have been recalled for repair because of the riskof strangulation to young children, the U.S. Consumer ProductSafety Commission announced today.
The consumer watchdog said since 1991, it had receivedreports of 130 strangulations involving blind cords. Of these,114 were caused by the outer pull cords and 16 children werestrangled by the inner cords that hold the blind slats.
The recall, made by the CPSC and the Window Covering SafetyCouncil, involves millions of blinds with pull cords and innercords that can form a loop and cause strangulation.
“We estimate there are potentially over 800 million windowblinds bought within the past 10 years that could be involvedin the recall,” CPSC spokesman Ken Giles told Reuters.
About 85 million window blinds are sold each year in theUnited States, Giles said.
1995 Review
The CPSC said in 1995 it had worked with the window blindindustry to redesign new blinds that eliminate the outer loopon the end of pull cords and that free repair kits had beenprovided so that consumers could fix their blinds.
Last year, the CPSC did a new investigation of deathscaused by blind cords and found that children could also becomeentangled in the inner cords used to raise the slats of theblinds.
All of these deaths involved children in cribs placed nextto windows. In most cases, the outer pull cords were placed outof reach but the children were strangled when they pulled onthe inner cords of the blinds.
The strangulation victims ranged in age from nine monthsto 17 months, the CPSC said.
Safer Blinds Available
As a result of the new investigation, the CPSC said theindustry had now designed window blinds so that the inner cordscould not form a loop if pulled by a young child.
Giles said people with blinds should telephone the WindowCovering Safety Council toll free at 800-506-4636 to get a freerepair kit for each set of blinds in the home. The repair canbe done in minutes without removing the blinds.
