Nano-Biotechnology

UK Filled with Dangerous Chargers

Unsafe chargers three times cheaper than standard ones

By Gabriel Gache, Science News Editor

21st of July 2008, 06:56 GMT

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Other European countries may be plagued by the same problem

According to a report recently published by the trading standards officers, in the United Kingdom there might be several hundreds of thousands of potentially dangerous devices used to re-charge an ever increasing number of portable electronics. Statistics indicate that most of them come from China and other countries across Europe may also be flooded with faulty chargers that either overheat or could cause electrocution.

Tests carried out in the UK reveal that one of the most concerning devices are those bearing no code markings or called Travel Chargers, and those marked DE62347066. Game console chargers for Nintendo DS, DS Lite or Gameboy are already known to have serious safety issues and could see their manufacturers recalling them in mass.

Unfortunately, this might not be the biggest problem regarding charges in the UK. Not only that most of them don't comply with standards, but some of them could even bear fake CE markings. "The UK appears to be flooded with them. It probably runs into hundreds of thousands or even millions," said Chris Holden, senior trading standards officer at Buckinghamshire County Council.

The vast majority of retail chargers tested well, but they cost about 15 sterling pounds, while sub-standard chargers are nearly three times cheaper and often show problems during operation. Holden points out that game consoles, music devices and mobile phones are most likely to be equipped with such dangerous chargers.

People operating them are at risk of suffering electric shocks as wires become detached or the pins connecting to the outlet are not sized properly and cause the device to overheat. At least two young boys have already died as a result of the use of unsafe chargers, some of the latest cases being that of Connor Dean O'Keeffe in Great Britain and that of a seven-year-old boy from Thailand found by his mother dead after using a game console charger.

TAGS:

charger | mobile phone | games console | electric shock | overheating

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