Press Release: Consumers: 30% of Christmas lights are a ‘serious safety risk’ in the home, warns EU report

30% of Christmas lights present an obvious and direct risk of fire and electric shocks according to a new report published on 2 December 2009 by the European Commission. The report presents the conclusions of a joint market surveillance project involving authorities from 5 Member States - Hungary, Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Netherlands - as well as the European Commission. Testing was carried out between November 2007 and May 2009 at different intervals on 196 random samples of lighting chains across the entire price range. The samples were checked against over 20 administrative and technical requirements. Many lighting chains failed multiple tests.

European Commission: MEMO/09/532: Christmas Lights - Frequently asked questions http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/09/532&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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