December 15, 2009
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Window Covering Safety Council (WCSC) are recalling millions of shades and blinds because of the risk of injury to young children. According to the CPSC, more than 200 infants and young children have died from accidentally strangling in window cords since 1990. The hazard is posed by pull cord and inner cord loops. Strangulations in Roman shades occur when a child places his or her neck between the inner cord and the fabric on the back. The accidents occur with roll-up blinds by lifting the loop slides off the side of the blind and a child’s neck becomes entangled on the free-standing loop or if a child places his or her neck between the lifting loop and the roll-up blind material. Consumers are urged to remove these types of window coverings if they have small children or contact:
windowcoverings.org online or by calling WCSC’s toll-free phone line at 1-800-506-4636 to obtain free retrofit kits.
