Making household products safer

There's something ghoulish about the term "deadman control," but it's an apt description. Before that safety device was required on walk-behind mowers in 1983, the machines injured some 78,000 people a year.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Com mission worked for years to mandate a safer mower, enlisting Consumers Union to develop the new standard. One of our recommendations was a required deadman control, which must be held by the operator for the mower blade to turn. Once the control is released, the blade must stop spinning within 3 seconds, thereby avoiding injuries that had resulted when blades kept whirling.

Our current mower report Best Lawn Gear: Top Mowers & Trimmers includes a robotic mower we believe to be a safety hazard. That got me thinking about other products that have caused CU to raise a red flag.


Radiation and fire risks

In 1973 we evaluated a new household luxury item: the microwave oven. Our engineers found that the ovens leaked radiation at levels they couldn't be sure were safe. We rated them all Not Recommended, though they were labeled as compliant with the current federal standard. We petitioned the government for stricter standards, resulting in improved door locks and warning labels. Today they're much better.

The portable kerosene heaters we rated in 1982 were such a pollution source and fire hazard that we said the whole class was a bad idea and recommended electric heaters instead. We petitioned the CPSC to investigate kerosene heaters. The CPSC asked the industry to voluntarily reduce emissions, add safety features, and reformulate the kerosene.

Today's portable electric heaters have their own hazards; millions have been recalled. We expect that a new UL requirement will improve oscillating heaters, a particular concern. We hope to add them to the list of products that are no longer as dangerous as they once were.