Special Reports

Gov't Board Examining Reported Problems With Pyrex

CPSC, Rep. Jan Schakowsky Examine Consumer Complaints

CHICAGO (CBS) ― The Consumer Product Safety Commission is now looking into whether there is a problem with Pyrex as reported by the CBS 2 Investigators.

And, as CBS 2 Investigator Pam Zekman reports, new complaints about Pyrex shattering or exploding during what cooks believe was normal use continue to be reported to the CPSC and CBS 2.

Allison Hodges is one of the more recent cooks to report she was injured by a piece of flying glass when Pyrex bakeware she was using shattered, sending pieces of glass flying four to six feet away.

Because of the CBS 2 investigation, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky had asked the CPSC about the safety of Pyrex and the adequacy of its instructions.

The agency has now responded to her, saying in a letter: "CPSC staff is currently looking into these matters."

"I'm disappointed that In the past they have thought the product is safe, there's no problem," Schakowsky said. "But I certainly want them now to be aggressive about it."

The agency has aggressively pursued Hodges for a statement, pictures and medical records to support her story. She says she cooked a vegetarian turkey roast wrapped in foil in a preheated oven set at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.

Hodges told CBS 2 when she opened her oven to take out her dish, it exploded, leaving her holding just a piece of the bakeware in her hand.

One fragment embedded in her foot and another piece cut into her chin. Unable to control the bleeding, she went to a hospital emergency room where a doctor removed the glass and stitched up the cut. She says the doctor told her she was lucky it did not hit her jugular vein just inches away.

World Kitchen, the Rosemont company that makes Pyrex, asked Hodges to send in the glass fragments for analysis. The company always makes that request, saying its tests show the overwhelming majority of incidents are the cook's fault for not following instructions or

But Hodges has kept the glass as evidence for a possible lawsuit. And that evidence shows the Pyrex trademark is embossed on one of the glass fragments.

As for the Pyrex instructions now being reviewed by the CPSC, Schakowsky said, "I think there needs to be a great deal more clarity in their warnings."

One question is where consumers can safely place a hot dish. World Kitchen call-takers have told consumers not on a room temperature stovetop and not on a stone countertop – but that's not in the written instructions.

"The company says you should put it on a potholder...that's good but nothing in the instructions makes that really clear," Schakowsky said.

World Kitchen says its safety and usage instructions are excellent, but are continually updated to accommodate changes in the kitchen.

The company also says its heat strengthening process is properly balanced for safety, as shown by the very limited number of complaints compared to the 390 million Pyrex products manufactured since 1998.

And the company says it will continue to have an open and productive dialogue with the CPSC.

As always the 2 Investigators asked World Kitchen for an on-camera interview, and the company declined.

The company also declined to comment about the case of Hodges because she refused to send in her pieces of glass.

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