The Chicago City Council
is expected to vote on an ordinance today that would make Chicago the
first city in the country to ban the sale of crib bumper pads.Ald. James Balcer, 11th, and Ald. George Cardenas, 12th, introduced the proposed ordinance in response to Tribune investigations that found babies have suffocated against the popular products. Bumper pads, which wrap around the inside of a crib and tie to crib slats, are often sold as part of coordinated bedding sets.
On Wednesday, the ordinance passed a joint health and consumer protection committee meeting despite opposition from industry representatives.
"This is our attempt to sound the alarm that something has to be done," said Cardenas, chairman of the Committee on Health and Environmental Protection.
Cardenas and other aldermen acknowledged that the task of overseeing product safety should fall to federal regulators but said nothing has been done.
"If they don't get their act together, municipalities like Chicago will have to do it on their own," Cardenas said.
The state of Maryland is considering a similar proposal to ban the sale of bumper pads, and the federal agency responsible for regulating consumer products — the Consumer Product Safety Commission — says it continues to investigate the issue.
In December the Tribune reported that federal regulators have failed to warn parents that bumpers pose a suffocation risk even though they know about the potential hazard.
It's unclear exactly how many babies have died from suffocating against the products, but the Tribune found that the federally funded National Center for Child Death Review has since 2008 received 14 reports of infant suffocation in which a bumper was relevant in the death.
Babies often lack the motor skills and strength to turn their heads if they roll against something that blocks their breathing.
Federal regulators have said they are trying to determine if there is a scientific link between bumper pads and suffocations, or if factors such as blankets, pillows or medical issues played the primary role in the deaths. However, the Tribune found that regulators did not investigate at least 17 reports of children's deaths even though the agency had reports on file suggesting bumper pads played roles in the fatalities.
The trade group that represents the makers and sellers of bumper pads says bumper pads are safe and added that banning the products could bring about unintended consequences, such as parents putting pillows and adult blankets in babies' cribs if bumper pads aren't available.
"It's an accident waiting to happen," said Rick Locker, general counsel for the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association.
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