Children and gasoline don't mix. With the passage of the Children's Gasoline Burn Prevention Act, an additional layer of fire safety and burn protection has been added for families across the country.
President George W. Bush signed the Act into law which requires portable gasoline containers manufactured for sale in the U.S. on or after January 17, 2009 to conform to child resistance safety requirements.
Gasoline containers will join containers with other flammable liquids, such as turpentine, charcoal lighter fluid, and torch fuel that are required to have child resistant closures. CPSC has jurisdiction over child resistant product packaging.
“Families who purchase gasoline cans with child resistant gas caps and who keep all flammable liquids out of the sight and reach of children are improving the safety of their homes,” said CPSC Acting Chairman Nancy Nord.
CPSC recommends these safety tips for consumers.
-Buy a gasoline container that is child resistant.
-Place a gasoline container in a well ventilated, cool area
-Never store gasoline or other fuel inside the house, in the basement, or near a fuel-burning appliance, open flames, pilot lights, stoves, heaters, electric mowers, or any other sources of ignition.
-Never smoke near gasoline.
-Never carry gasoline in the trunk of the car. Escaping vapors can easily ignite.
-Keep gasoline, kerosene and other fuels out of the reach of children. Never permit children to play with matches or fuel.
CPSC also requires child resistant packaging for many products that are dangerous for children to swallow including over-the-counter pain relievers such as aspirin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen, household cleaning products including drain openers, personal care products such as baby oil and mouthwash containing ethanol, and adult strength vitamins and supplements with iron. For aspirin and oral prescription medicine, special packaging has saved the lives of about 900 children since the early 1970s.
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The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of the thousands of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $900 billion annually. CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical or mechanical hazard. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters and household chemicals - contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.
Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a publicly-announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory recall ordered by the Commission.
To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury go online to www.SaferProducts.gov or call CPSC's Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or teletypewriter at (301) 595-7054 for the hearing impaired. Consumers can obtain news release and recall information at www.cpsc.gov, on Twitter @OnSafety or by subscribing to CPSC's free e-mail newsletters.