SAMSUNG: DOMINATING GLOBAL PRODUCT SAFETY NEWS OVER HANDLING OF RECALL
Samsung recalls Galaxy Note7 smartphones due to serious fire and burn hazards
September 15, 2016, cpsc.gov
Samsung has announced a recall of the Galaxy Note7 smartphones in cooperation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Samsung has received 92 reports of the batteries overheating in the U.S., including 26 reports of burns and 55 reports of property damage, including fires in cars and garages. Consumers having affected models are eligible for a free new Galaxy Note7 with a different battery, a refund, or a new replacement device.
Samsung stumbles in race to recall troubled phones
September 15, 2016, The New York Times
Samsung’s speed and decisiveness in recalling its trouble Galaxy Note7 smartphone won praise from some in the mobile industry. But what was supposed to be an enormous-but quick-recall of 2.5 million units has turned out to be anything but smooth. In addition to shaving $22 billion off of the company’s value in the stock market,experts say its efforts confused customers, frustrated regulators, and continued to generate a stream of negative headlines around the world.
ATLl China will supply batteries to Samsung Galaxy Note7 replacements
September 12, 2016, Tech First
After faulty batteries led to a global recall of its Galaxy Note7 smartphones, Samsung Electronics will only use batteries made by China’s ATL for its replacement devices. Samsung has ordered an additional four million batteries from the China supplier, which also supplies batteries for Apple’s iPhone series. Samsung’s batteries have previously been produced by a company subsidiary. These developments occur at a time when global growth of the lithium-ion battery market is expected to Increase sharply with rising number of applications.
Marshall Square defendant agrees to pay millions to the Consumer Product Safety Commission
September 13, 2016, The Augusta Chronicle
The Goodman Company, which agreed to a $5.55 million civil penalty as part of a settlement agreement with the CPSC, is one of the defendants in a civil litigation matter arising out of a heating and air unit it manufactured. The company is named as a defendant in 3 pending lawsuits filed in Columbia County (Georgia) Superior Court. The lawsuits contend that Goodman is liable because the unit responsible for a fire in the third-floor billiards room of a local resort is also cited in the complaint filed by CPSC against Goodman in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. That complaint charged Goodman with violating the legal requirement to immediately report a product defect that could create a substantial product hazard, and to report that a product created an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death.
California’s Proposition 65: All eyes are on aspartame
September 12, 2016, National Law Review (Keller and Heckman)
California is considering adding aspartame to its Proposition 65 listing, which requires label warnings on products containing substances “known by the State of California to cause cancer.” Aspartame was originally approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1981 under specific conditions, and has been continuously found by FDA to be a safe substance since then. California’s experts are preparing to provide the State’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment a priority assessment for consideration of aspartame listing as an eligible substance under the state’s Proposition 65. Aspartame is an artificial, low calorie, non-saccaride sweetener used as a sugar substitute and flavor enhancer in certain foods and beverages.
Volkswagen engineer to plead guilty in emissions cheating scandal
September 9, 2016, The Wall Street Journal
A Volkswagen engineer pleaded guilty to helping the auto maker’s admitted efforts to cheat on emission tests, becoming the first person criminally convicted in the U.S. in the wide-ranging scandal that has cost the German auto giant billions of dollars. The engineer, James Liang, pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate in the continuing U.S. investigation according to his plea agreement in federal court in Detroit.
Official didn’t publicly report Flint-area disease outbreak
September 14, 2016, ABC News
Michigan’s former state epidemiologist acknowledged in a plea deal that she was aware of dozens of cases of Legionnaires disease in the Flint area around the same time the city changed its water source, but that she didn’t report it to the general public. She pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor of willful neglect of duty in exchange for prosecutors dropping felony misconduct and conspiracy charges.
Portland Schools official resigns after lead controversy
September 8, 2016, NWCN.com
The Portland Public School employee who oversaw lead testing and was placed on administrative leave has resigned. In his resignation letter, Andy Fidley, the schools’ Environmental health and Safety Manager, said the district did not provide enough resources to lead issues and he lobbied the district and state to address the aging school buildings. A statement by the district said “we have had an interim environmental health and safety team in place since July and continue to be focused on reviewing policies and practices to ensure the safety of our students.
Blog: The millennial shift and new global supply chain patterns
July 8, 2016, ebnonline.com
Internal management teams are experiencing real generational shifts as Millennials climb the ladder, move into management roles, and reshape their companies. Millennials bring with them fundamental differences in social and business mindsets, and a very different, native relationship with the digital age and communication, an age they grew up on, unlike their management predecessors.
The first baby bed: A guide to current and proposed regulations of bassinets
September 15, 2016, JDSupra
A bassinet, like a crib, is used as a sleeping choice for various ages of babies, especially newborns. A bassinet, however, is typically much smaller than a crib and usually has some portability feature that allows it to be moved. Under Section 104 of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act mandatory consumer product safety standards are required for bassinets; however, proposed updates to bassinet regulations will also have a Food and Drug Administration twist if the product is used in a healthcare or can otherwise be deemed a medical device.
