Large Buckets Are Drowning Hazards For Young Children
NEWS from CPSC
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Office of Information and Public Affairs
Washington, DC 20207
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 12, 1989
Release # 89-065
Large Buckets Are Drowning Hazards For Young Children
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission (CPSC) warns that buckets filled with water or other
liquids, especially the large five-gallon size, present a
drowning hazard to small children. CPSC knows of at least 67
drowning deaths in buckets during the years 1985-1987, mostly to
young children 8 - 12 months old. Information available to the
Commission strongly suggests that many, if not most, of these
drownings occurred in large (five-gallon) plastic buckets or
containers being used for mopping floors or for other household
chores.
While large buckets or containers appear to be most
hazardous, the CPSC staff warns consumers never to leave any
bucket of water unattended where small children may gain access
to it.
In 17 of the 67 death reports for the period 1985 - 1987
available to the Commission, the size of the bucket was reported.
All of these were reported to be five-gallon buckets or
containers.
The Cook County, Illinois Medical Examiners Office, which
first alerted the Commission to this particular hazard, reports
that all of the 11 bucket drownings which it has investigated
since 1985 involved five-gallon plastic shipping containers being
used as household buckets.
Large five-gallon plastic or metal containers are used for
bulk or commercial-sized quantities of a wide variety of products
including food, paint, construction materials such as spackling
compound. When emptied of their original contents, these
containers are sometimes re-used as buckets by consumers.
Similar five-gallon containers are also sold new in stores as
large volume household buckets.
Young children's curiosity combined with their crawling and
pulling up while learning to walk can lead to danger when buckets
are used around the house. The Commission staff believes that
these drownings happened when curious children or toddlers
crawled to a bucket containing mop water or other liquids for
household chores, pulled themselves up and leaned forward to play
in the water. When they toppled into the bucket, they were
unable to free themselves and drowned.
The five-gallon bucket is particularly dangerous (even when
only-partly filled) because its heavier weight makes it more
stable than a smaller bucket and unlikely to tip over when a
child uses it to pull up. The five-gallon containers are
commonly about half the height of these infants and with several
gallons of water, weigh more than children of that age.
The Commission is interested in learning more about this
hazard. If you know about a drowning or near drowning incident
in a bucket or similar product, call the CPSC Hotline at 1-800-
638-2772. A teletypewriter for the hearing impaired is available
at 1-800-638-8270.
