The range of bicycle helmet performance at real world impact locations

In the United States, all bicycle helmets must comply with the standard created by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). In this standard, bike helmets are only required to by tested above an established test line. Unregulated helmet performance below the test line could pose an increased risk of head injury to riders. This study quantified the impact locations of damaged bike helmets from real-world accidents and tested the most commonly impacted locations under CPSC bike helmet testing protocol. Ninety-five real-world impact locations were quantified. The most common impact locations were side-middle (31.6%), rear boss-rim (13.7%), front boss-rim (9.5%), front boss-middle (9.5%), and rear boss-middle (9.5%). The side-middle, rear boss-rim, and front boss (front boss-middle and front boss-rim regions combined) were used for testing. Two of the most commonly impacted regions were below the test line (front boss-rim and rear boss-rim). Twelve purchased helmet models were tested under CPSC protocol at each location for a total of 36 impacts. An ANOVA test showed that impact location had a strong influence on the variance of peak linear acceleration (PLA) ( p = 0.002). A Tukey HSD post hoc test determined that PLA at the side-middle (214.9 ± 20.8 g) and front boss (228.0 ± 39.6 g) locations were significantly higher than the PLA at the rear boss-rim (191.5 ± 24.2 g) location. The highest recorded PLA (318.8 g) was at the front boss-rim region. This was the only test that exceeded the 300 g threshold. This study presented a method for quantifying real-world impact locations of damaged bike helmets. Higher variance in helmet performance was found at the regions on or below the test line than at the region above the test line.

Firework-related injuries treated at emergency departments in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 compared to 2018–2019

Background Despite a national decrease in emergency department visits in the United States during the first 10 months of the pandemic, preliminary Consumer Product Safety Commission data indicate increased firework-related injuries. We hypothesized an increase in firework-related injuries during 2020 compared to years prior related to a corresponding increase in consumer firework sales. Methods The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) was queried from 2018 to 2020 for cases with product codes 1313 (firework injury) and narratives containing “fireworks”. Population-based national estimates were calculated using US Census data, then compared across the three years of study inclusion. Patient demographic and available injury information was also tracked and compared across the three years. Firework sales data obtained from the American Pyrotechnics Association were determined for the same time period to examine trends in consumption. Results There were 935 firework-related injuries reported to the NEISS from 2018 to 2020, 47% of which occurred during 2020. National estimates for monthly injuries per million were 1.6 times greater in 2020 compared to 2019 (p < 0.0001) with no difference between 2018 and 2019 (p = 0.38). The same results were found when the month of July was excluded. Firework consumption in 2020 was 1.5 times greater than 2019 or 2018, with a 55% increase in consumer fireworks and 22% decrease in professional fireworks sales. Conclusions Firework-related injures saw a substantial increase in 2020 compared to the two years prior, corroborated by a proportional increase in consumer firework sales. Increased incidence of firework-related injuries was detected even with the exclusion of the month of July, suggesting that the COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted firework epidemiology more broadly than US Independence Day celebrations.

Contamination by Hazardous Elements in Low – Priced Children’s Plastic Toys Bought on the local Markets of Karachi, Pakistan

Children’s plastics toys maybe contain toxic metals to which infants and young children can be orally exposed and may pose acute or chronic adverse health effects. The objectives of this research were to evaluate the total metal concentrations (TMCs) of Pb, Cd, Cr, Ni, Zn, Cu, and Mn in children’s plastic Toys Bought in the local markets of Karachi, Pakistan, and compared TMCs to different regulatory limits. Total 44 children’s plastic toys sourced in the Karachi local markets had analyzed by an atomic absorption spectrophotometer for heavy metals contaminations. These toy samples had divided into two groups; Plastic toys (DCT) and Plastic toys with paints or coatings (DPCT). For plastic toys, 83% (19) of samples had TMCs that exceeded European Union (EU) toy safety regulation limits for Pb, and 65% (15) of samples that exceeded for Cd. For plastic toys with paints or coating, 43% (9) of samples had TMCs that exceeded EU migration limits for Pb and 24% (5) for Cd. More than 20 samples exceeded the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (U.S. CPSC), Canadian, and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) toy safety regulation limits. In toys samples (n = 44) very high TMCs of Pb (64%), Cd (45%), Cr(5%), and Ni (2%) were observed. Zn, Cu, and Mn TMCs were also existing but below the Regulation limits. The Contamination levels of Pb, Cd, Cr, and Ni and smaller extent of Zn, Cu, and Mn still pose health issues in children and may cause serious problems in their health.

Infant fatality patterns in shared sleep: keys to intervention strategies?

This study examines infant fatalities that occurred while sharing a sleep surface. Fatality data reported to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) during the time period January, 2013 through December, 2017 and involving infants through age 10 months were reviewed. 1,587 Cases were analyzed on the following variables: infant age and sex; sleep environment by product; cause of death; fatality pattern; and breastfeeding, where it was mentioned. 97% Of deaths were due to some form of asphyxia. Adult beds were associated with 78% of shared sleep fatalities, and the primary fatality pattern was overlay (35.4%)/probable overlay (8.8%). Infants <3 months made up 65% of fatalities. The data reflect that bedsharing continues, despite AAP guidelines to the contrary, and that overlay is the primary hazard pattern to be addressed. This paper discusses potential risk reduction strategies that may reduce the potential for overlay fatalities.

A framework and pilot tool for the risk-based prioritization and grouping of nano-enabled consumer products

The use of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in consumer products has expanded rapidly, revealing both innovative improvements over conventional materials, and the potential for novel risks to human health and the environment. As the number of new nano-enabled products and the volume of toxicity data on ENMs continues to grow, regulatory agencies like the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) – a small, independent federal agency responsible for protecting consumers from unreasonable risks associated with product use – will require the ability to screen and group a diverse array of nano-enabled consumer products based on their potential risks to consumers. Such prioritization would allow efficient allocation of limited resources for subsequent testing and evaluation of high-risk products and materials. To enable this grouping and prioritization for further testing, we developed a framework that establishes a prioritization score by evaluating a nano-enabled product's potential hazard and exposure, as well as additional consideration of regulatory importance. We integrate the framework into a pilot version software tool and, using a hypothetical case study, we demonstrate that the tool can effectively rank nano-enabled consumer products and can be adjusted for use by agencies with different priorities. The proposed decision-analytical framework and pilot-version tool presented here could enable a regulatory agency like the CPSC to triage reported safety concerns more effectively and allocate limited resources more efficiently.

Supply chain in the C-suite: the effect of chief supply chain officers on incidence of product recalls

Purpose This study aims to investigate the extent to which the presence of chief supply chain officers (CSCOs) in top management teams (TMTs) helps firms to reduce the incidence of product recalls. Design/methodology/approach The authors identified all recalls for the period 2010–2017 issued by publicly held firms regulated by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. These data were subsequently combined with information on TMT composition from BoardEx and financial performance data from Compustat to create a unique data set. Findings The study identified a significant and negative association between CSCO presence and incidence of product recalls. The evidence also supports the conjecture that this association is stronger in larger firms, indicating that CSCOs are especially effective when operating within more complex supply chains. Practical implications The findings provide important insights into quality management in contemporary supply chains and indicate that assigning specific responsibility for supply chain management to a TMT member improves product reliability. Originality/value These findings contribute to the growing literature on the underlying causes of a product recall by identifying corporate governance antecedents of external quality failures of this kind.

Assessment of Elevator Risks and Code Requirements Associated With Slip, Trip and Fall Hazards

In previous work, the hazards associated with elevator door closures were identified and analyzed. Using the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) database of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), incidents associated with door strikes were identified between the years 1990 to 2017. This current effort focuses on elevator slip, trip and fall hazards. The ASME A17.1 Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators requires that elevator systems be equipped with leveling devices to vertically align the car platform sill relative to the hoistway landing sill to attain a predetermined accuracy. Even with the leveling safety requirements, slip, trip and fall incidents for passengers exiting or entering elevators are known to occur. This paper will analyze elevator slip, trip and fall hazards using injury records from the NEISS database from 1990 to 2019. Relevant elevator incidents were extracted from this dataset through manual inspection of the text-based description fields of all elevator-related incident records found in the NEISS dataset from this time period. National projections of elevator incidents were then calculated from this extracted dataset and trended for the entire time period of 1990 through 2019. The age and sex distributions of these national projections were also analyzed. These projections and trends are then discussed in the context of ASME A17.1 requirements intended to mitigate the risks of injuries when entering or exiting an elevator.

Managing head injury risks in competitive skateboarding: what do we know?

ObjectivesThe broad objective of this paper is to inform policy, practice and research regarding the management of head injury risks in competitive skateboarding. The main motivation for the current study was the question of mandating helmet use in competitive skateboarding. The specific aims are to present current knowledge on (A) head injury risks in skateboarding, (B) preliminary biomechanical data on falls and head injury risks in a selection of competitive skateboarding events similar to those planned for the Summer Olympics, (C) standards for skateboard-styled helmets and (D) impact performance of helmets commonly used in skateboarding.MethodsA narrative review of the published literature on head injuries in skateboarding was conducted. Videos of skateboarding competitions from Vans Park Professional League, Street League Skateboarding and Dew Tour were reviewed to describe crashes and falls. Standards databases including the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), British Standards Institution (BSI), Snell, United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) were searched for skateboarding-styled helmet standards. A sample of helmets considered suitable for skateboarding was tested in standard impact tests.ResultsThe majority of previous literature focused on the paediatric population in a recreational setting with little data from competitive skateboarding. Head injuries comprised up to 75% of all injuries and helmet use was less than 35%. Video analysis identified high rates of falls and crashes during competitive skateboarding, but also a capacity for the athletes to control falls and limit head impacts. Less than 5% of competitive skateboarders wore helmets. In addition to dedicated national skateboard helmet standards, there are several national standards for skateboard-styled helmets. All helmets, with the exception of one uncertified helmet, had similar impact attenuation performance; that is, at 0.8 m drop height, 114–148 g; at 1.5 m, 173–220 g; and at 2.0 m, 219–259 g. Impact performance in the second impact was degraded in all helmets tested.ConclusionHelmets styled for skateboarding are available ‘off the shelf’ that will offer protection to the head against skull fractures and intracranial injuries in competitive skateboarding. There is an urgent need to commence a programme of research and development to understanding and control head injury risks.

Risk Assessment of Escalator Sidewall Entrapment Between the Years 1990 and 2017

In previous work, hazards related to escalator sidewall entrapment were examined between the years 1998 and 2017 [1]. This prior analysis included entrapment of the escalator riders’ fingers, hands, toes, or feet. Data were analyzed from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) to better understand the trends associated with escalator sidewall entrapment since the introduction of the step/skirt performance index in the 2000 edition of ASME A17.1 Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators. This current effort extends the analysis to include injury data as early as 1990 to discern the trends in sidewall entrapment hazards during the decade prior to the introduction of the step/skirt performance index. The 1990 to 1997 data set was statistically adjusted to account for changes in the sampling frame of the NEISS data set between that period and the 1998 to 2017 data that were analyzed in the previous work [2,3]. This new work analyzes data from the entire time period, 1990 to 2017, to better understand the injury data trends and risks associated with sidewall entrapment. The resulting trends are then compared to the Code modifications introduced to mitigate the hazards of sidewall entrapment. The statistical grouping analysis used in the previous work is improved and extended in this work. This grouping analysis presents an estimate of the number of sidewall entrapment incidents per day and overall incident percentage for contiguous date ranges covering the years 1990–2017. In all, the work presented herein will allow for a comparison across date ranges for both hand/finger and foot/toe injuries as it relates to modifications to ASME A17.1 such as the addition of the step/skirt performance index.