The Consumer Product Safety Commission opened its doors this week to a new, state-of-the-art testing lab just outside Washington, D.C., designed to improve the speed, quality and affordability of product testing in order to better serve and protect American consumers.

The Miami Herald reports that the facility, at 32,000 square feet, is 2 ½ times the size of the old and increasingly decrepit lab CPSC technicians have used for the last several decades. Now, thanks to the updated lab design and amenities, the federal consumer protection agency will have more power and pull when it comes to preventing consumers from purchasing and using unsafe products.

“This brand new testing facility…is an investment in the safety of American families,” said the head of the CPSC, at the lab’s opening on Monday. “Every test they run, every result they record, every hazard they detect, is about one thing in the end – keeping children and consumers safe.”

Equipped with nine labs, 75 engineers and other scientists and nearly twice the number of employees originally employed at the old lab facility, the new CPSC lab will allow testers to specialize their testing procedures to suit both imported and domestic goods that cause severe injury and death to unsuspecting consumers each year.

Sample tests include everything from effectiveness studies on bike helmets to flammability tests on children’s pajamas and mattresses to vehicle road stability tests – and amazingly enough, the improvements and updates to the CPSC’s testing processes will result in taxpayer savings rather than expenditures, thanks to increased levels of efficiency and in-house management.

“America’s families can sleep better at night knowing that the consumer safety cops are on the beat and in the lab,” said supporter Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois.

Help the CPSC do its job: stay up-to-date on product recalls to ensure consumer safety

As consumers, we depend to a certain extent on the scientists and lab technicians at the CPSC to help us make safe purchases. Most everything we buy — from small appliances to toys to household fixtures to vehicles – is subject to government recall; and the work performed by the so-called “safety cops” is intended to aid us in making the right choices.

However, it is also our responsibility to keep the system going: and in order to make the CPSC’s tests truly effective, we need to remain aware of any recalls issued based on their lab data.

Let’s do our part to keep our families, friends and San Diego community safe this summer by logging on to http://www.recalls.gov/ and learning which products have been recalled recently. If you own any recalled products, follow the instructions on the government website and discontinue use of the hazardous products immediately.

Pines Salomon Injury Lawyers, APC. has continuously worked to educate the public on safety and accident prevention. Legal consultations are free – if you have been injured, call Pines Salomon Injury Lawyers, APC. today at 1-858-551-2090 for a free and confidential consultation.