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Recall of 9.6M playpens
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November 24, 1998: 12:46 p.m. ET
Government safety agency says units linked to 8 strangulation deaths
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Tuesday a recall of about 9.6 million playpens, some of them manufactured as long as 38 years ago, due to a potential strangulation danger to children.
The government safety agency said the playpens have played a role in the deaths of eight children since 1983. It said pacifier strings or loose clothing can strangle children on protruding rivets inside or on the rails of the playpens.
The brands affected by the voluntary recall include Bilt-Rite, Evenflo, Gerry, Graco (a Rubbermaid [RBD] brand), Kolcraft, Playskool (a Hasbro [HAS] brand), Pride-Trimble and Strollee. The oldest models were manufactured in 1960, while others were sold as recently as May.
Although the government has forbidden the sale of pacifiers on strings since 1977, many parents continue to place pacifiers on ribbons or strings upon bringing the units into the home. The CPSC restated its warning that pacifiers should never be placed around children's necks.
Six of the eight companies selling the playpens are helping parents remedy the potentially dangerous units by offering repair kits and cash rewards for proof of having destroyed them. Two companies -- Pride-Trimble Inc. and Strollee Co. -- are no longer in business, although Pride-Trimble Corp. is; in those instances, the CPSC advises parents to destroy the playpens.
The agency advised consumers to check the outside top rails of their playpens for protruding metal rivets similar to nut and bolt fasteners, though the rivets cannot be removed.
The CPSC said consumers should immediately stop using these playpens and call (800) 794-4115 for information about participating in any of these playpen recalls.
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