A massive recall has been issued on an item because of its failure to keep young children safe from harm.
The products in question are Safety 1st Toilet and Cabinet Locks imported from China by the Columbus, Indiana-based Dorel Juvenile Group. The recall encompasses a staggering 685,000 cabinet locks and 183,000 toilet locks. The toilet lock, which keeps children out of the toilet by way of an attachment behind the lid, has a model number of either 48003 or 48103. The cabinet lock has 12013 or 12014 as its model numbers and was designed to go around cabinet handles so as to prevent young kids from opening the cabinet.
In the case of either product, the recall was prompted because it’s possible for children to disengage the locks and gain access to the toilet (and potentially drown) or to a cabinet’s contents (which might be unsafe or dangerous). Eight children have reportedly been able to disengage the toilet lock, with 102 more reports coming in of the lock simply being inadequate. An additional 278 cabinet locks failed to do their duty. One child even swallowed a toxic item and required hospital admittance, though he was released the next day.
The items were sold at a variety of retailers. The cabinet locks costs anywhere from $2 to $11 and were on sale from January 2000 to March 2009, while the toilet locks, which were priced from $8 to $20, could be bought between January 2005 and April 2010.
Consumers are being advised to contact Dorel about a replacement product, and in the mean time, to remove the locks and store dangerous items in a safe place and not to allow young children to enter the bathroom without being monitored.