STURDY law reintroduced | Stop furniture spills


This standard, established in 2000, states that a chest of drawers 27 inches or more must stand when a 50-pound weight is suspended from a single open drawer while the others are closed. This ignores what happens when the drawers of a dresser are filled with clothes, when several drawers are open at once, when a 21-pound toddler like Kaesyn pulls on a drawer, when a child from 60 pounds climbs on drawers or when a dresser is placed on a rug, among other real-world possibilities.

Also, because the current standard is voluntary, furniture makers are not required by law to ensure their dressers meet it before selling them.

Instead, companies often urge consumers to anchor their furniture to the wall so it doesn’t tip over, but it’s not a safe solution, CR’s ongoing investigation has shown. Many people do not have the skills to install wall anchors and some tenants are not allowed to drill holes in their walls due to the terms of their lease. And in some circumstances, even properly installed anchors fail to hold, as it did – captured on a baby monitor – when an anchored Ikea shelf spilled onto toddler twins who narrowly escaped a injury.

Schakowsky says parents shouldn’t have to worry about the stability of their furniture.

“As parents juggle supervising their children while working from home during the ongoing pandemic, they deserve the peace of mind knowing their furniture is safe,” Schakowsky said. “Unfortunately, current voluntary standards for furniture stability are inadequate and unstable furniture continues to be a top hidden household risk.” She says she “is reintroducing the STURDY law to protect children from these preventable dangers and spare families from these painful situations resulting simply from a piece of furniture.”

Senator Bob Casey, D-Pa., Is expected to reintroduce STURDY law in the Senate tomorrow.

A spokesperson for the American Home Furnishings Alliance, an industry group, previously told CR that it “supports a mandatory stability standard that requires all manufacturers to meet a rigorous safety standard for clothing storage furniture. “. But the group would rather have the CPSC institute the standard directly through the agency’s rulemaking process rather than being authorized by the STURDY Act, as the bill could be “held back indefinitely in the process.” legislative ”.

Rulemaking for the CPSC, however, is also notoriously time-consuming and may continue as STURDY law passes through Congress.


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