The Consumer Product Safety Commission improperly informed some members of the public about potentially risky merchandise without first getting approval from the industry it regulates. Read more»

Polaris Industries has agreed to pay $27.25 million – a record penalty – to settle charges that it failed to immediately notify federal officials about a fire hazard on its recreational off-highway vehicles that regulators have linked to at least one death and more than 180 fires. Read more»

In recent years, Polaris Industries, the leading producer of off-road vehicles, has recalled hundreds of thousands of its trail machines due to a fire danger. The hazard is linked to at least three deaths and three dozen injuries ranging from minor scrapes to limbs burned so badly amputation was required. Read more»

IKEA, the home furnishings giant, announced Tuesday that it is recalling about 180 models of chests and dressers that it admitted do not meet voluntary industry safety standards, including the popular MALM-style dresser, which has killed three children by tipping over and falling on them. Read more»

Despite years of talk, kids are still dying because of hazardous cords on window blinds. At least 332 children, most of them under the age of two, have been fatally strangled by window cords over the last 30 years. Another 165 have been injured, including some who suffered permanent brain damage or quadriplegia requiring lifelong care. Read more»

A leading consumer group is warning that the increasing use of all-terrain vehicles on the nation’s roads poses a “growing public health crisis” and is calling for immediate action by U.S., state and local officials. Read more» 1

ATV tragedies – on roadways, rather than trails — are widespread and have increased in recent years. Nevertheless, a push is under way in states, counties and towns across the country to open more roads to ATVs. Read more»

To stave off regulation and lawsuits over severe burns to toddlers, manufacturers will provide protective screens as standard equipment with new gas fireplaces. The industry has revised its voluntary guidelines to call for the addition of mesh screens to be attached to new fireplaces. The aim is to prevent contact with the scorching glass fronts, which get hot enough to melt skin. Read more»

Consumer groups and anguished parents are urging the Consumer Product Safety Commission to impose federal safety regulations for fireplace glass, but the fireplace industry, which up to now has policed itself, is resisting. Read more»