Recall Fever

Danger in the Grass Will your lawn furniture give out under you? Your gas grill explode? The Consumer Product Safety Commission wants to alert you to some spring and summer product recalls before someone gets hurt. The CPSC, an independent federal regulatory agency, sets safety standards and issues alerts on many products, urging buyers of faulty items to return them for refund or repair or throw them out. The agency has issued dozens of alerts since the fall, including 22 on such outdoor items as folding picnic tables from Atico that pose a risk of collapsing, John Deere gas barbecue grills that can catch fire, and Heartwood Creek turtle sprinklers that can break or shatter during normal use. But not enough people have gotten word, according to the agency.

You've Got Mail You needn't go to the agency's Web site, http://www.cpsc.gov, or happen on a news item to learn of a recall anymore. Now you can sign up for automatic recall notices at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.asp. Some 100,000 people have signed up for the service to date, according to the CPSC; the agency is working with fire departments, police stations and safety councils to try to push that number to 1 million. You can sign up to get all recall notices -- an average of four per week -- or restrict e-mails to the categories you use most often, such as infant and child products, or sports and recreation items. Signing up ensures you access to future recall notices only; to get information on items already recalled, click on Recalls and Product Safety News at the agency's home page.

Spring Cleaning The CPSC also lists information on items that have had safety design changes over the years, such as window blinds, cribs and cedar chests. Older versions of some items have resulted in deaths to babies and children. Click on "CPSC's Most Wanted'' to the left on the home page for more information. For safety guidance and recall alerts on infant and child car seats, check the Web site of the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration ( http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/home.cfm).

-- Francesca Lunzer Kritz