An evaluation of the impact of exemptions to the children's sleepwear flammability standards on burn injuries to children

Abstract

AbstractIn 1996, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) amended the children's sleepwear flammability standards to exempt sleepwear sized for infants aged nine months or younger and tight‐fitting sleepwear for older children. The amendments were developed in response to an apparent preference for untreated cotton garments by many parents and difficulties in enforcing the pre‐amendment standards. However, they were adopted only after CPSC concluded that they would provide consumers a wider selection of children's sleepwear without diminishing the protection provided by the pre‐amendment standards. The amendments became effective in 1997, but remained controversial, with some interested parties believing that the exemptions would substantially reduce the level of safety for children. To address these concerns, and in cooperation with the American Burn Association and Shriners Hospitals for Children, the CPSC initiated a national study of child clothing‐related burn injuries treated in burn center hospitals. From 2003 through 2005, the CPSC collected information on 475 such injuries. This study evaluates the burn center data to help determine the safety effects of the amendments to the sleepwear standards. The results provide no evidence of increased risk of burn injury associated with the exemptions from the sleepwear standards. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.