According to a new EU Commission report 30% of Christmas lights present a serious safety risk to Irish households. The findings of the study show that substantial risks exist from electrocution or fire and consumers should be careful when selecting decorations for their trees.

Melegena Kuneva, current Commissioner for Consumer affairs said, "If we are going to "keep the lights on" at Christmas, consumers need to be confident that there are no compromises on safety. Consumers want value for money and choice when they shop around at Christmas but never at the expense of safety. This report is a "wake up" call. National authorities and industry will redouble efforts to crackdown on the gaps and loopholes that can let shoddy goods into shops and our homes. But consumers also need to work to minimise safety risks: so be vigilant, be active and be aware, that way everyone can have a safe and happy Christmas."

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 between 2007 and May 2009.

The main results

Serious non-compliance problems with local standards leading to an increased risk of electric shock, fire hazard or both were found in 30.4% of investigated lighting chains. Generally, serious non-compliance problems mean failing technical safety requirements relating to the construction of, for example: plugs, cord anchorages, wiring, insulation, protection against electric shock. Other deficiencies which do not immediately jeopardise the safety of the user were found in an additional 40% of lighting chains tested. These include certain labelling, instructions or administrative deficiencies.

The 3 main problems found were:

• 1. 25% of lighting chains failed the safety tests for the cord anchorage. Insufficient cord anchorage can lead to the electric wires coming loose with a high risk of electric shock (serious non-compliance).
• 2. 23% of lighting chains failed the requirement for "cross sectional area." This means that the wiring is too thin for the electric currents it is carrying, which increases the risk of overheating and fire (serious non-compliance).
• 3. 28 % failed the safety tests for cables. This means the insulation and construction of the chain is such that there is a risk of electric shock (serious non-compliance).

In addition:

• A number of other requirements are also regularly not met, though less frequently such as poor design that can result in an injury from sharp edges.
• Nearly 15% of samples did not carry the correct "technical markings" required. More importantly, warnings were lacking in 41% of the samples and proper user instructions in almost 35% of the samples
• Lighting chains regularly fail more than one of the safety tests. Some lighting chains failed nearly all the technical tests and many failed 4 to 7 tests.
• The level of non-compliance varied from one Member State to another. While in Hungary, 95.7% of chains tested showed serious hazards to consumers, only 56% of those checked in the Netherlands showed any type of non-compliance. This is partially because the Netherlands has been carrying out market surveillance on lighting chains for 8 years and through these efforts has managed to halve the number of dangerous products destined for the market.
• With regard to origin of the dangerous products, China accounted for approximately 41% of the samples tested.

Next steps

The EU Commission and Member States will continue to intensively monitor the market. The industry will also need to step up controls. Under EU law, manufacturers, distributors, retailers and importers are legally responsible for the safety of the products they put on the market.

Advice for consumers

Consumers must be vigilant and take basic precautions and minimise risk.

• Buy Christmas lights from reputable dealers where basic safety standards should be assured.
• Never leave Christmas lights on when you are out of the house or at night when people are asleep.
• If you suspect there is any kind of electrical or mechanical problem with new lights or lighting chains you have already been using, don't take a chance. Stop using them and bring them back to the shop and complain.

For further information, see: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/pro/index_en.htm