Dangerous Gifts !

Here we are, just days away from Christmas and many people will have finished buying the gifts they will give to friends and family.  Hidden away in a cupboard until the great day will be carefully wrapped presents that the buyer agonised over during the selection process to find something "new and exciting  "!

One of the innovations on sale this season is an alcohol burner that will bring grace to any dining table.  It can be used in purely decorative form, or serve to keep food hot.  Unfortunately it can also deliver life threatening burns and property damage if it is mishandled or accidentally overturned.

The design of this burner has the intention of displaying a dancing flame to delight the eye but when the fuel is nearly extinguished that flame becomes difficult to see.   It is highly dangerous to attempt to refuel on the assumption that the flame is extinguished.   This has resulted in a spate of accidents, leading to the governments of New South Wales, Victoria,, Queensland and Western Australia to slap a sixty day ban on the sale of this product.

Shops and Internet sources must remove them from sale and customers are urged to return them for a refund.   There have been 115 reported injuries Australia wide, but it is likely that many more went unreported.  It is also likely that this warning will be disregarded either because the danger message did not get through, or because the users think they can cancel the risk by using care.  Retailers who ignore this ban face a $ 220,000 fine for individuals and a $ 1.1 million for corporations.

Unfortunately, this alcohol burner is just one of many unsuitable products that have found their way into shops in this country.   Many will remember when a ship load of electrical cable was imported and sold through a hardware chain, only to discover that the insulation used was inferior and would breakdown in less than five years service.   It became almost impossible to track down where this cable was used and it is highly likely that it will account for many house fires in the years ahead.

Every year product safety inspectors pay close attention to the goods on offer in shops and particularly in the low cost markets that specialise in imported toys.    This low cost end of the market seems to attract toys with hazards like detatchable batteries and parts that will easily break away.  Dangerous goods are seized and destroyed.

It is not practical to insist that all items manufactured here and all items imported into the country first undergo a safety check.   The sheer volume would swamp whatever checking facility we could devise, resulting in both a time delay and a sharp increase in the ultimate cost.  It would require a bureaucracy of monumental proportions and this has not been implemented in any other world country.

We rely on good business practice to keep us safe.   No sane manufacturer intentionally produces a dangerous product.  The vast majority of goods offered for sale meet accepted criteria and in some cases danger arises only when they are used for an unintended purpose.   Our safety system relies on bringing these to notice when they occur.

It seems that Christmas is the danger period.  Manufacturers strive to bring new products to market at this critical time when buyers are seeking something "different " and a new novelty can sweep the market.   Last year it was the "Hoverboard ".  That produced a spate of house fires and broken bones. This year it seems that an ornamental table flame is the attraction that delivers harm !