By Brian Wolfman
Public Citizen, U.S. PIRG, and the Consumer Federation of America held a press conference on Thursday alerting the public to dangerous kitchen stoves that, because they are so light-weight, have a tendency to tip over and maim and kill consumers. For more information, go to the "Killer Stoves" website. Here's an excerpt from the beginning of the groups' joint press release:
Approximately 15 to 20 million kitchens in the United States are equipped with a range that can tip over and crush, scald or burn whoever is standing in front of it.... Public Citizen, U.S. PIRG and the Consumer Federation of America detailed the longstanding problem in most brands of electric and gas ranges that affect households throughout the country.
According to documents from the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the national retailer Sears, manufacturers and the government have known about this lurking danger for more than twenty years. Since the early 1980s, manufacturers of ranges began using lighter-gauge steel to reduce costs, even though they quickly learned that this resulted in a tendency for the lighter-weight appliances to tip over when weight was applied to the oven door.
The press release goes on to detail the number of deaths and serious injuries resulting from these stoves and the failure of regulators and manufacturers to insure that anti-tipping brackets are installed on the stoves.
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