Washington, D.C. – As the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) releases two new reports on furniture tipovers, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), are calling on Congress to swiftly pass their legislation, the Stop Tip-overs of Unstable, Risky Dressers on Youth (STURDY) Act. The legislation comes as serious safety concerns have arisen from fatal tip-over incidents involving children in PA and across the nation. According to the CPSC, tip-overs of furniture, TVs, and appliances cause over 15,000 injuries per year to children under 9 who are crushed, trapped or struck by falling objects, and the majority of these incidents involve furniture tip-overs.
“Tipping furniture presents a serious danger to our nation’s children. The STURDY Act directs CPSC to adopt a stronger, mandatory stability standard that will help protect kids from being injured or killed by tip-overs of chests, dressers and bureaus,” Casey said. “We must move quickly to pass this legislation in Congress to stop the hundreds of preventable injuries, and even deaths, that impact children and families across the country each year. I commend the CPSC for their work in helping to make our homes safer for our children.”
“No family should live in fear that their child could be severely injured or even killed by a preventable tip-over of household furniture,” said Klobuchar. “After a 22-month old from Apple Valley, Minnesota was killed by a falling Malm dresser, I called on the Consumer Product Safety Commission to take action to prevent further injuries and deaths and on IKEA to act to safeguard its customers. While the dangerous IKEA dressers have been recalled and are no longer being sold, these alarming new reports show that more needs to be done. Our bill expands this call to action by ensuring stronger standards for all manufacturers that will help protect more children from the risks of furniture tip-overs.”
“Parents shouldn’t have to worry that unstable furniture might seriously injure their children – or worse – every time they turn their heads in their own homes,” said Blumenthal. “This report is further evidence of the grave danger posed by large furniture and appliances that are inadequately anchored to walls or dangerously top-heavy, and can tip-over, crushing small children. Current voluntary safety standards are plainly insufficient. American families need a strong furniture stability standard to prevent deadly tip-overs and protect our children.”
The CPSC report echoes many of the findings of a recent study by Kids in Danger (KID), a child safety advocacy organization. KID found that fewer than half of the furniture units they tested met the ASTM stability standard, and the organization recommended that the standards be made stronger, mandatory and enforceable. The reports can be found below.
CPSC Report on the ASTM Standard for Clothing Storage Units
CPSC Report on Tip-over Injuries and Fatalities
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