The U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) begins accepting nominations for the Chairman's Commendation Circle Award program today. Completed nominations should be received at CPSC by June 30, 2012.
The program was established in 2011 by CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum to identify and honor people and organizations that have made significant contributions to consumer product safety.
"I want to recognize the innovators, highlight those who demonstrate a relentless commitment to product safety, and show appreciation to those who are out there saving lives and preventing injuries like we strive to do every day at the CPSC," Tenenbaum said.
Nominees can be individuals, organizations, businesses, state and local governments or other groups residing in or outside of the United States.
Nominations should include a cover form (available online), a description of the individual or organization, a description of how and to what extent the nominee has contributed to improving consumer product safety, and a summary of additional information. Up to three letters of support or other supporting documents may also be provided. Additional details are available at www.cpsc.gov/award
A CPSC panel will screen nominations and forward recommendations to the Chairman. The Chairman will make the final selection of who will receive an award and how many annual awards to present. The announcement of awardees will be made on a date to be determined.
Last year's awardees included:
- ASTM Subcommittee F15.18 on cribs, toddler beds, play yards, cradles and changing tables for their crucial work in helping develop CPSC's new mandatory crib standards, making U.S. crib standards the strongest in the world.
- Nancy Cowles, executive director of the Chicago-based Kids in Danger for her tireless work on behalf of children's safety issues.
- Consumers Union for its research, consumer education and support of CPSC in preventing deaths and injuries.
- Dr. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, for being a long-time advocate of preventing injuries through design changes, educating consumers and eliminating product hazards.
- Gene Rider, president of Intertek Consumer Goods, North America, for more than two decades of his work identifying risks and improving the safety of consumer products for children, specifically in the prevention of childhood injuries and deaths due to choking, strangulation and aspiration hazards.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.
To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC's Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (301) 595-7054. To join a CPSC e-mail subscription list, please go to http://www.cpsc.gov/Newsroom/Subscribe/ (http://www.cpsc.gov/Newsroom/Subscribe/). Consumers can obtain recall and general safety information by logging on to CPSC's Web site at www.cpsc.gov (http://www.cpsc.gov).