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Consumer Safety Data Tuesday night, three people -- two adults and a child -- died in Florida from carbon monoxide poisoning from a gasoline-powered generator running in their garage. Last Sunday, a 13-year-old Minnesota girl was found dead in an ice-fishing house, where she was spending the night. A gas heater filled the small shelter with the invisible, deadly gas. Last Christmas, three adults and three children drifted in and out of unconsciousness while carbon monoxide infiltrated a house. They were the lucky ones. A 911 call saved their lives. But it stands as a warning of hazards that cold weather can bring. More details: "Inspection revealed that the newly finished basement had an improperly sized and ventilated furnace room. ... A negative draft was established sending fumes into the dwelling." From 1990 through 2001, the Consumer Product and Safety Commission conducted 1,363 investigations involving carbon monoxide. The details about last Christmas came from databases obtained from the agency and part of the IRE and NICAR Database Library's collection. For each new season, hazards return: lawn mowers in the spring, swimming pools in the summer, leaf-blowers in the fall. The database helps a journalist to get a handle on such hazards and more, plus giving narrative examples. The database can offer depth to many stories and might even help alert the public to a potentially dangerous product. The database includes four tables. One contains death certificate information where consumer products are involved. The certificates are provided to CPSC through state health departments. Another includes injuries, from CPSC hotline reports and letters the agency receives, newspaper accounts and reports from medical examiners. Another data file includes summaries of investigations into product-related injuries or incidents, and another is a survey CPSC has been conducting for nearly 30 years. The agency collects reports from a nationwide sampling of hospitals. Using this data, CPSC produces national estimates of the numbers and types of injuries that are somehow related to consumer products. For more details, go to www.ire.org/datalibrary/databases/cpsc/. To obtain the data, call the Database Library at 573-884-7711 or download an order form. Tipsheets The IRE Resource Center has a tipsheet that explains how to use the Consumer Product Safety Commission's National Injury Information Clearinghouse database. Written by Mike Sherry, former NICAR data analyst, the tipsheet is number 1508. More tipsheets related to consumer investigations can be found by searching the tipsheet database. Stories We have several stories in the IRE Resource Center, such as: 16919: This Atlantic Monthly article details problems and concerns with the Consumer Product Safety Commission's ability to keep unsafe infant products off the market. Each year many deaths and injuries occur as the result of unsafe products. But, unlike other agencies, the CPSC does not require mandatory testing of products before they are released to the market. The author also argues that the agency is underfunded. 14548: KCTV-Kansas City, Mo.) found a major furnace manufacturer was selling thousands of furnaces although the company knew about a dangerous defect that could lead to injuries and death. More stories can be found by searching the story database. Uplink and The IRE Journal Another resource for advice on consumer investigations is the searchable Index of The IRE Journal and Uplink. Back issues of The IRE Journal and Uplink may be purchased for $10 each. There is an additional $10 user fee for nonmembers. Check with the Resource Center at 573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org for availability.
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