By Christopher Jensen on April 2, 2018
Polaris Industries has agreed to pay $27.25 million – a record penalty – to settle charges that it failed to immediately notify federal officials about a fire hazard on its recreational off-highway vehicles that regulators have linked to at least one death and more than 180 fires. The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission, in announcing…
Posted in FairWarning Reports, Recent Stories | Tagged Auto and Highway Safety, Consumer Protection, Product Hazards and Recalls |
By Paul Feldman on March 29, 2018
Editor's note: See clarification at the end of the story.
In its newsletters and magazines, in congressional testimony and on its website, AARP warns seniors about deceptive direct mail and other dubious marketing come-ons as part of its mission to protect members from financial abuses. But the huge advocacy group’s own aggressive efforts to coax seniors to join or renew their memberships also have drawn…
Posted in FairWarning Investigates, Recent Stories | Tagged Consumer Protection, financial abuse |
By Rick Schmitt on January 18, 2018
Sales of most corded window blinds and shades – products blamed for the strangulation deaths of more than 300 U.S. infants and toddlers since 1981 — will come to an end late this year. The decision last week by the window covering industry to quit selling the items in the U.S. and Canada is a…
Posted in FairWarning Reports | Tagged Consumer Protection, Product Hazards and Recalls |
By Lynne Peeples on January 9, 2018
When her black cat rapidly dropped from a healthy 14 pounds to a skeletal five pounds, it was natural for Arlene Blum to investigate whether a toxic chemical in her home might be to blame. The veterinarian’s diagnosis raised that possibility, and Blum had expertise in the harm that chemicals can cause. Her research as a chemist in the 1970s helped reveal the possible health hazards posed by flame retardants used in children’s sleepwear.
Posted in FairWarning Investigates | Tagged Air Pollution/Toxic Exposure, Consumer Protection, Environmental Safety and Health |
By Dan Ross on December 14, 2017
In the early 1900s, a young dentist named Frederick McKay moved to a Colorado town where the residents’ teeth — though in some cases stained chocolate brown — had far less decay than was typical back then. He and other researchers eventually linked the phenomenon to fluoride in the town’s drinking water – a eureka moment that would usher in what is often called one of the 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century.
Posted in FairWarning Investigates | Tagged Consumer Protection, Drinking Water, Environmental Safety and Health |
By Paul Feldman on December 7, 2017
The era of driverless vehicles appears to be rapidly approaching, raising a bevy of urgent questions about how to prevent the emergence of new hazards on the nation’s roads. So, how much preparation have federal transportation authorities carried out to meet the challenge of the advent of self-driving cars and trucks? Not nearly enough, according…
Posted in FairWarning Reports | Tagged Auto and Highway Safety, Consumer Protection, Product Hazards and Recalls |
By Paul Feldman on November 29, 2017
Anti-smoking groups, frustrated by federal inaction on restricting menthol cigarettes, are taking matters into their own hands. In recent months, cities ranging from Oakland and Los Gatos, Calif., to Minneapolis and St. Paul have passed laws limiting the availability of menthol cigarettes, which health advocates say have a particular appeal to beginning smokers. St. Paul…
Posted in FairWarning Reports | Tagged Consumer Protection, Smoking and Tobacco Industry |
By Stuart Silverstein and Myron Levin on November 21, 2017
In a matter of days, the American tobacco industry will begin publicly admitting some ugly truths about its dark history and the health effects of smoking. The tobacco giants will launch a court-ordered national advertising campaign to end a massive fraud and racketeering case that the federal government brought against the industry nearly two decades…
Posted in FairWarning Reports | Tagged Consumer Protection, Product Hazards and Recalls, Smoking and Tobacco Industry |
By Myron Levin on November 16, 2017
A California jury today rejected claims that Johnson & Johnson and its talc supplier were responsible for the deadly cancer of a woman who blamed her illness on breathing asbestos fibers from contaminated body powders. On a 9-3 vote, the jury in Pasadena absolved J&J of negligence in the sale of Johnson’s Baby Powder and…
Posted in FairWarning Reports | Tagged Consumer Protection, Pharmaceutical Industry and Drugs, Product Hazards and Recalls |
By Paul Feldman on October 26, 2017
Amid complaints by consumers about fumes and carbon monoxide seeping into the cabins of Ford Explorers, the nation’s No. 2 automaker next week will launch a free servicing program. Ford continues to insist that the vehicles are safe, despite complaints from more than 2,000 motorists who say they have been inhaling exhaust in their Explorers….
Posted in FairWarning Reports | Tagged Air Pollution/Toxic Exposure, Auto and Highway Safety, Consumer Protection |
