Government safety agency mum, company blames victims for cuts, burns
August 20, 2008
It has been nearly three years since ConsumerAffairs.com first reported that consumers were being cut and burned by exploding Pyrex bakeware. The company was quick to deny the problem and government safety regulators seemed untroubled by the reports.
Three years later, not much has changed. Many consumers still rely on Pyrex bakeware for everyday cooking chores, trusting that the baking dishes can safely go from the oven to the countertop to the freezer.
But more than 300 complaints filed by ConsumerAffairs.com readers detail frightening stories of these dishes spontaneously shattering during temperature changes, propelling scalding glass shards and food 15 feet or more, sending some consumers to the hospital with tendon and nerve damage and serious burns and leaving others with property damage and, at the very least, a ruined dinner and a huge mess in their kitchen.
The manufacturer blames consumers for not reading the fine print on the product label, yet the product packaging claims that it is “freezer safe ... microwave safe ... dishwasher safe ... oven safe.” But not everyone buys that.
"The instructions on minimizing risk are not very clear," said Dr. Steve Freiman, an expert of brittle materials, formerly with the National Institute of Science and Technology. "Even if they were, I'm not sure how many people read the instructions on these things or would remember them after a few years."
Freiman and other glass experts consulted for this story say the glass used in today's Pyrex products may not be tempered properly, making it more likely to explode than products sold under the Pyrex label in the United Kingdom and some other European countries. The manufacturer denies that and says it has an "exemplary" safety record.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) — the government agency responsible for protecting consumers from unsafe products — has remained mostly mum despite Congressional inquiries, media scrutiny and an ever-growing chorus of complaints.
*SNIP*
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/08/pyrex.html
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