On the eve of June 1st International Children's Day, people once again focused their attention on children. On June 1 last year, this newspaper conducted an investigation and interview on the hidden dangers of children's furniture. In August of the same year, China's first national standard for children's furniture, "General Technical Conditions for Children's Furniture," was officially implemented, but in the following months, various hidden dangers of children's furniture were continuously exposed. So, what is the safety of children's furniture in the furniture market? "Life Times" reporter conducted a follow-up investigation.
60% of child injuries occur at home
According to a survey conducted by the Global Child Safety Organization: 61.2% of child injuries occurred at home; children often suffered injuries at home: falls / falls (25%), burns / electrical injuries (16.7%), sharp injuries (9.1%), etc. ; Nearly 80% of parents do not know how to conduct security checks on household items. Just in March of this year, the Shanghai Quality Supervision Department discovered that some children ’s tables, chairs and cabinets in IKEA have hidden safety hazards and do not meet the requirements of the new national standard.
On May 21, the reporter came to a furniture store. A Danish children ’s furniture flyer called “Fresa†reads “We have chosen safety for your childrenâ€. However, the reporter found in the store that the corners of furniture such as bookcases and bedside cabinets are all designed at right angles, only on the sides. Glue safety pads are stuck on the corners. The reporter opened a closet and found that there were no vents in it.
The new national standard stipulates that in order to prevent children from playing and hiding in furniture for too long and suffocating, the cabinet-type closed furniture must have a ventilation function. Later, in the Songpu Kingdom furniture store, the reporter saw that the wardrobe did not have ventilation holes. The clerk explained that "not every customer likes the vent design. If the customer likes it, we can punch holes on the spot."
In the store of "Favorite", a well-known brand, the reporter opened a white maple wardrobe, and a pungent smell came across. The salesperson hurriedly explained that "this is the smell of the wood itself". When the reporter questioned, the salesperson immediately closed the cabinet door and said: "Look at other furniture, this cabinet is new and has not smelled yet." The reporter did not see any environmental testing report in the store, the salesperson said : "We have, but we didn't post it. If you buy furniture, you can watch it."
The reporter also saw a bookshelf priced at about 2,800 yuan with very sharp corners and no chamfering. "Will the child bump into it?" The reporter asked. "Our furniture is made of solid wood, it is very soft, and will not knock the children down," the clerk told reporters. "The rounded corner design is also not good-looking. The sheet metal furniture is made into rounded corners."
Afterwards, the reporter went to the Shilihe store in Beijing, and visited the children's furniture counters such as Douaiqi and Qicai Life. It was found that the corners of most children's furniture are designed with rounded corners, but some children's furniture that can be stretched and raised is not. Warning, some well-closed cabinets have no ventilation holes.
The most safety hazards to prevent
Children are active, but their self-protection ability is weak. Environmental protection and safety should be the primary standards for children's furniture. Zhu Changling, chairman of the China Furniture Association, told the "Life Times" reporter that the new national standard has made provisions for this, but because most of the chapters are recommended, they are not binding on manufacturers, and there are still many "hidden furniture" in the market.
Formaldehyde and heavy metals exceed the standard. A random inspection by the local quality supervision bureau found that many children's furniture exceeded the standard for formaldehyde and heavy metals. Formaldehyde mainly comes from plates, and heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, and chromium come from bright paints. Sun Yuan, director of the Department of Pediatric Blood Transplantation at Beijing Daopei Hospital, said that the carcinogen formaldehyde will increase the incidence of blood diseases.
The edges of the furniture are sharp. The sharp corners of furniture can easily cut or bruise children. For some merchants who said that "solid wood furniture is very soft and will not knock down children", Zhu Changling said that there is no test to prove that solid wood furniture is softer than plates and will not knock down children, but it is just an excuse for businesses.
Closed furniture has no ventilation holes. In April last year, two girls in Sichuan got into wooden boxes and played "peek-a-boo", eventually suffocating and dying, making countless people sad. In order to prevent children from entering the furniture to play and cause suffocation, the new national standard stipulates that closed furniture should be designed with ventilation holes, and covers, doors and similar devices should not be equipped with automatic locking devices to prevent children from accidentally entering and suffocating.
There are improper holes or gaps on the surface of the furniture. Children often touch the surface of furniture. If the pores are too large, it is easy to catch or pinch children's fingers or other parts of the body. The new national standard stipulates that the gap of movable parts that can be touched should be less than 5 mm or greater than or equal to 12 mm.
There are ropes in the lower part of the curtain. In 2010, a 1 and a half year old child in Massachusetts in the US was nearly strangled by curtain ropes, which caused many parents to worry. Curtain cords may catch the neck of playing children, causing strangulation or suffocation.
There are glass parts in the lower part of the furniture. The new national standard stipulates that, except in areas above 1.6 meters above the ground or children ’s standing height, the product should not use glass parts to prevent children from breaking the glass and cutting the body.
Buy furniture and look for two certifications
Zhu Changling reminded that the quality of furniture can be inspected by touching, seeing and smelling, and inquiring about the production history, equipment and other information of the enterprise in detail, as well as requesting a test report of formaldehyde and heavy metal residues. The most important thing is to check whether the company has ISO9000 quality management system certification and ISO140000 environmental management system certification. The quality of products with these two certifications is relatively more guaranteed.
If the furniture in your home has the above-mentioned safety hazards, it is better to replace the old furniture with new ones, or to transform the old furniture, such as installing soft plastic safety products on the sharp corners of the table; suspend the curtain cords to fix them. In addition, Zhu Changling advocates rational consumption, which is simple, practical, and sufficient. The more furniture placed in the children's room, the higher the safety risks and health risks.
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