[Recalls Page]

January 2006 Recalls and Product Safety News

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Steve & Barry’s University Sportswear, of Port Washington, N.Y, is voluntarily recalling about 334,000 Children’s upper outerwear garments with drawstrings. The garments have a drawstring through the hood, posing a strangulation hazard to children. In February 1996, CPSC issued guidelines to help prevent children from strangling or getting entangled on the neck and waist of drawstrings of upper garments, such as jackets and sweatshirts. CPSC was alerted to this hazard by the state of Wisconsin.

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), King of Fans Inc., of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is voluntarily recalling about 75,000 Maxi-Heat™ Dream Tower Heaters. The wires inside the oscillating heater can short circuit and spark, posing a fire hazard to consumers.

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Bradley Technologies (Canada) Inc., of British Columbia, Canada, is voluntarily recalling about 560 Bradley Electric Smokers. In addition to the electric cord that plugs into the wall, these units have an electric cord with prongs on both ends that connect the generator to the smoker. If the unit is plugged into the wall socket and one end of the connecting cord is unplugged, there is an electric shock hazard.

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Homelite Consumer Products Inc., of Anderson, S.C., is voluntarily recalling about 1,550 Homelite Vac Attack II Blowers. The blowers are missing the doors covering the vacuum inlet. This exposes the blower’s fan blade, posing a risk of finger laceration to the user.

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Porter-Cable, of Jackson, Tenn., is voluntarily recalling about 70,000 Porter-Cable 890 Series Routers. The motor coil insulation can be worn away by vibration from the motor, which could pose a shock hazard.

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), L.L. Bean, of Freeport, Maine, is voluntarily recalling about 4,100 Auto Safety Kits, Auto Aid in a Bottle kits, Winter Safety kits, and Outdoorsman in a Bottle kits. The products have a flashlight that relies on a powerful magnet and copper coil for manual recharging. The magnet adversely affects the polarity of the compass rendering it unreliable. The magnet could be powerful enough to disrupt a heart patient’s Implantable Cardiac Defibrillator (ICD). The product’s packaging lacks appropriate warning information.

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Country Home Products, Inc., of Vergennes, Vt., is voluntarily recalling about 15,700 2005 Model NEUTON® Cordless Electric Lawnmowers. When the handlebar is released on the recalled lawnmowers, the motor could continue to run, which causes the blade to continue to spin. In addition, there is excessive heat build up in the wire coil inside the housing and also in the safety key.

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Mizuno USA, Inc., of Norcross, Ga., is voluntarily recalling about 12,800 Mizuno “Gamer” Baseball Gloves. These gloves could contain aspergillus mold. Such mold usually does not affect healthy individuals, but could cause respiratory or other infections in individuals with chronic health problems or in individuals who have impaired immune systems.

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Syntace USA, of Olney, Ill., is voluntarily recalling about 2,300 F99 (Force 99) Bicycle Handlebar Stems. The recalled bicycle stems can crack or break under normal conditions, causing the rider to fall and suffer serious injury.

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Fisher-Price, of East Aurora, N.Y., is voluntarily recalling about 614,000 Fisher-Price® Laugh & Learn™ Musical Learning Chairs™. A child can become lodged between the seatback and side table of the chair, possibly leading to an entrapment of the neck. This can pose a strangulation hazard to young children.

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Target, of Minneapolis, Minn., is voluntarily recalling about 861,000 sets of Mini Light and Chasing Lights. These lights have undersized and exposed wires, which pose a risk of electric shock and fire hazards.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with India’s government to improve the safety of consumer products exported to the U.S from India. CPSC Chairman Hal Stratton and Labanyendu Mansingh, India’s Secretary of the Department of Consumer Affairs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, signed the agreement at CPSC Headquarters in Bethesda, Md.

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Hurley International, of Costa Mesa, Calif., is voluntarily recalling about 330 Boy’s Windbreaker Jackets with Drawstring. The jackets have a drawstring through the hood, posing a strangulation hazard to children. In February 1996, the CPSC issued guidelines to help prevent children from strangling or getting entangled on the neck and waist drawstrings of upper garments such as jackets and sweatshirts.

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Generac Power Systems Inc., of Waukesha, Wis., is voluntarily recalling 20,000 12” Braided Flex Fuel Hose sold with certain Guardian® Home Standby Air-Cooled Generators. The fuel hoses can leak if bent in an unreasonable fashion during installation or upon completion of installation. If an ignition source is present, a fire or explosion can occur.

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Stihl Inc., of Virginia Beach, Va., is voluntarily recalling about 23,500 Stihl-brand MS 192 T Chain Saws. These chain saws can leak fuel, posing a fire hazard. A connection in the ignition grounding system could loosen and create a spark, posing a fire hazard. Also the springs in the clutch assembly could come out of position allowing a spring of the clutch to be projected from the saw housing resulting in injury to the user.

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), American Biophysics Corp., of North Kingstown, R.I., is voluntarily recalling about 335,500 “L”-Shaped Quick-Clear Valve Adapters used with Mosquito Magnet® Insect Traps. The maintenance accessory is an “L”-shaped, Quick-Clear Valve Adapter that can leak or break apart during use, possibly striking and injuring nearby persons or releasing pressurized carbon dioxide (CO2) that can freeze exposed skin.

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A., of Irvine, Calif., is voluntarily recalling about 15,200 Kawasaki 2005-2006 model year Mule 600 Utility Vehicles. The steering knuckle can twist or break from wheel forces transmitted to the steering system during operation. This can cause a loss of steering control and possible collapse of the front suspension, posing a risk of incident or injury to the operator or passenger.

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Neptune Systems, of San Jose, Calif., is voluntarily recalling about 300 Direct Connect 8 Power Strips. The metal enclosure on the power strip is not properly grounded, which could result in an electrical shock.

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), LTD Commodities, of Bannockburn, Ill, and its subsidiary, The Lakeside Collection, of Lincolnshire, Ill., are voluntarily recalling about 34,600 Pilates Balls. The plastic black clips at the end of the rubber tubing can come apart when in use. In addition, the grommet used to hold the black rubber tubing could separate from the nylon webbing. Consumers using the pilates balls could fall and be hit by pieces that separate.

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), C & A Scientific Co. Inc., of Manassas, Va., is voluntarily recalling about 3,000 Metal Alcohol Burners used in scientific experiments. Alcohol can leak from defective soldering around the burner’s copper tubing that acts as a wick, posing a fire and burn hazard.

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Bombardier Recreational Products Inc., of Valcourt, Quebec., is voluntarily recalling about 4,050 Model Year 2006 Ski-Doo REV500 SS, REV 600 HO, and REV 600 HO SDI Snowmobiles. Cracks could appear in the starter ring gears allowing gear fragmentation at high speeds. The debris could act like projectiles and cause serious injury or death to riders or bystanders.

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Bombardier Recreational Products Inc., of Valcourt, Quebec., is voluntarily recalling about 10,400 Model Year 2006 Ski-Doo REV, RT, and RF Snowmobiles. The steering columns on these snowmobiles could have a missing weld, which could allow a steering component to become loose. This could lead to a loss of control or possible collision causing serious injury or even death.