A deadly flaw! US officials warn two brands of Carbon monoxide detectors sold on Amazon may not work — leaving households across US at risk from deadly gas
Carbon monoxide alarms sold online fail to detect dangerous levels of the potentially fatal gas, federal officials warn.
Testing found devices made by GLBSUNION and CUZMAK did not flash red and start beeping loudly when exposed to dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.
They were sold for between $16 to $40 at online retailers, including Amazon. Both devices are registered to Shenzhen, China.
Officials at the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said the alarms were ‘very likely’ to cause death or injury due to the fault.
They urged Americans to rip out and replace any that were in their homes immediately. Amazon said it had removed the products from its store and that customers who bought the alarms were warned and issued with full refunds.
Pictured above is the alarm that is being recalled. It is meant to detect carbon monoxide but failed to do so during testing. Americans are now being advised to replace the alarms immediately
Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless and tasteless gas that can be highly poisonous and flammable in high concentrations.
More than 200 people die from exposure to the gas or from fires caused by its release in the United States every year.
Late last year 28 children and four adults were rushed to hospital after being poisoned by carbon monoxide at a daycare center in Pennsylvania.
In its advisory, the CPSC said: ‘If a carbon monoxide detector that does not alert to the presence of an elevated level of carbon monoxide is installed in a home, and carbon monoxide enters the home, the consumer will not be warned of this harmful gas.
‘[This] makes injury or death very likely.’
The fault with the alarms was spotted during testing of the devices.
It is not clear what the cause is, although previously alarms have failed to work because parts of them have malfunctioned.
Aging alarms and those exposed to excessive dust or moisture may also fail to work correctly.
Both are made of white plastic and feature a digital display. Their dimensions are about four to 1.5 to four inches.
It was not clear how many had been sold in the US.
GLBSUNION is registered to Shenzhen, China, and sells a variety of products on Amazon including waterproof cases and women’s sports clothes. Alarms are among its bestsellers.
CUZMAK is based in the same city and also operates under the name Shenshenshi baojiada dianzishangwu youxian gongsi.
Standards set out by regulators say that carbon monoxide alarms should sound within four to 15 minutes when exposed to carbon monoxide levels above 400 parts per million (PPM).
Carbon monoxide is created by the incomplete burning of natural gas. It can be emitted from faulty heaters, grills and car exhausts.
It is dangerous because when the gas is breathed in it replaces oxygen in your bloodstream.
This leads to the heart, brain and body being starved of oxygen, which can trigger someone to collapse.
There is no warning the gas has been released because it is colorless and odorless, making it particularly dangerous.
Amazon told DailyMail.com: ‘Safety is a top priority at Amazon and we require all products offered in our store to comply with applicable laws and regulations.
‘We have proactive measures in place to prevent prohibited products from being listed and we continuously monitor our store and remove any such products and take corrective actions when we find them.
‘The products in question in this case have been removed and we have notified customers of the CPSC’s concerns and issued refunds.’
The models that are faulty included the AJ-938 which has the manufacture codes B093Y1KK5Q and B093Y637CM stamped on its label at the back. The model CD01 was also affected, which has the code B07MPVK6HG and B07K44HLCV.
DailyMail.com has contacted Amazon for comment.
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