COLUMBUS (TDB) -- The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission ordered a nationwide recall of 66,000 portable weather-alert radios on the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Why? Because the Chinese-manufactured devices can't reliably pick up warning signals and are hazardous.
The recall notices went out on a terrible day in U.S. history, when some 1,600 perished along the Gulf Coast in the massive storm. The CPSC warning about the imports said:
"Hazard: The radios could fail to receive National Weather Service alert signals in certain areas of the country. In the event of severe weather, this failure could put a consumer's life and property at risk. . . Consumers should not rely on the recalled weather radios to receive emergency information."
Oregon Scientific Inc., which marketed the devices through retail stores nationwide, is offering free replacements. This can only add to the declining reputation of goods imported from China, which are increasingly turning out to be cheap and dangerous junk.
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