CPSC Considers Banning Side-drop Cribs
November 24, 2009
Washington - The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on Tuesday said it is considering banning side-drop cribs which are linked to dozens of deaths among children for the past two years.
The side-drop cribs have one side which can be moved down to allow parents, especially shorter adults, to lift babies more easily. Because of this design, a number of children have been stuck between the crib’s movable side and the mattress and died due to suffocation.
In an interview with The Associated Press, CPSC Chair Inez Tenenbaum said she will not use drop-side crib if she has a baby, given the history of accidental suffocation involving its design.
Tenenbaum also said the consumer agency will release a mandatory standard for crib design that will require manufacturers to make cribs with four fixed sides.
Meanwhile, ASTM International, a group that develops safety standards to industrial and consumer products, said it released a new standard last week that requires manufacturers to make cribs which have four immovable sides. Companies that will fail to adopt this safety standard will not receive certification from the organization.
More than 2 million drop-side cribs made by Stork Craft Manufacturing are being recalled after the death of four children due to accidental entrapment and suffocation.
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