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Jul 22, 2008 6:43 pm US/Central
Durbin Calls For Investigation Of Pyrex
(CBS)
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Some home cooks have reported problems with Pyrex bakeware shattering while in or outside their ovens.
CBS
Pyrex bakeware is in most American kitchens. Now, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is asking the Consumer Product Safety Commission to look into its safety to see if there's a problem with Pyrex.
CBS 2 Investigator reports that Durbin's request cites a series of reports by CBS 2 on complaints about Pyrex shattering or even exploding.
After Gina Tuso set her hot Pyrex dish on the oven door, she says it exploded, sending glass across the kitchen. One piece hit her daughter Julia's hand and neck.
"My daughter is hurt; you know she was burned. But what if she was blinded?" Tuso said.
Janine Dabertin required surgery to repair a tendon in her finger. It was cut after she tried to rinse out a Pyrex dish that had cooled off.
"It literally shattered and exploded in my hand," Dabertin said.
Cases like these prompted Durbin to ask the CPSC to take action.
"I just have to tell you any parent that has raised a child, that would be a nightmare to think of flying glass in the kitchen when you have to get dinner ready. So we want to make sure the product is safe," Durbin said.
In a letter, Durbin is asking the CPSC to "take appropriate steps to review whether there are hazards or warning label issues...and whether product or label modifications are necessary to protect consumers."
"I think Channel 2's investigation ... really has pointed to some serious concerns," Durbin said.
Pyrex-maker World Kitchen, headquartered in Rosemont, has previously told CBS 2: "That there have been very few such incidents ... among the 370 million Pyrex glass products World Kitchen has sold since 1998."
But Durbin says that because Pyrex can be found in 80 percent of U.S. homes, if there are defects, "this product could compromise the safety of a significant number of consumers."
"The fact is that if this glass explodes … its dangerous to any customers there and certainly to any children that might be nearby," Durbin said.
World Kitchen has also said most incidents happen because consumers fail to follow instructions.
But as CBS 2 has disclosed, the instructions are vague, even when it comes to where you can safely place a hot dish.
"Is there a design defect here? I don't know. Is there a way that with proper warning that people can use it safely? These are the things we need to look at seriously on a systematic basis," Durbin said.
The CPSC has not yet responded to CBS 2 News about Durbin's letter.
In the past, the CPSC has said it does not consider Pyrex to be a safety hazard and there has never been a recall.
World Kitchen said that the complaints CBS 2 News found were unsubstantiated and that they have an exemplary safety record, earned through decades of reliable use in American homes. World Kitchen said that it will continue to have an open and productive dialogue with the CPSC.
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