No.26  The press announcement digest version in the 1998 fiscal year

1. Number of Accident Information

The number of the accident information collected in the fiscal year 1998 was 1045.

The number of the product accident information collected to the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation in the Ministry of International Trade and Industry in the fiscal year 1998 was 1045.It decreases approximately 8% compared with the fiscal year 1997.(It must be drown attention that the decrease in the product accident information does not always show the decrease of the whole accidents.)

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2. Situations of Accidents Classified by Articles

There are a lot of accidents caused by combustion appliances, domestic electrical appliances, vehicles and the vehicle-related products, and compared with the previous year, the products accidents other than these decrease.

The accident information related to the three article fields of the combustion appliances (344), the domestic electrical appliances (317), and the vehicle and the vehicle-related products (173) occupies 80% of the collected product accident information.

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3. Situations of Damage

Approximately 38% (401 cases) of the accidents involve the human injury and approximately 39% (412 cases) spread the damage to that except for the products causing the accidents. The casualties were approximately 9% (94 cases) and the seriously injured accidents approximately 7% (70 cases) of the whole accidents, and those caused by the combustion appliances were 49 cases and 15 cases respectively.

1. (1) As for the casualties, the 52% was the accident by the combustion appliances. The details are the fire and the carbon monoxide intoxication.
2. (2) The major origins of the casualties were solely the wrong use and the careless usage, which occupies 51% (48 cases) of the all, while none occurred caused by that "the product itself has a problem" and "the product itself has the problem and the
   usage also affects the occurrence of the accident."

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4.Origins of Accidents

Among the accidents, those thought to be solely caused by the wrong use and careless usage are the highest, approximately 36% (375 cases) of the all, by the unknown origin approximately 20% (206 cases), and by problems in design, structure, and expressions approximately 10% (109 cases).

1. (1)As for the accidents solely caused by the wrong use and the careless usage, the combustion appliances (215 cases) were outnumbered and followed by the domestic electrical products (69 cases).
2. (2) As for the accidents caused by the unknown origins, the domestic electrical products (80 cases), the vehicle and vehicle-related products (54 cases), and the combustion appliances (38 cases) occupy the approximately 83% of the all. Most of them were ignition accidents and the products causing the accidents were fiercely burnt so as to be difficult to unfold the origins.
3. (3) The accidents solely caused by problems in the design, structure, and expressions were the domestic electrical products (49 cases), the personal belongings (22 cases), and the vehicle and vehicle-related products (10 cases).
4. (4) The occurrence of the accident whose origin is judged to be the product was decreasing tendency such as approximately 23% in fiscal year1996 and approximately 18% in the fiscal year 1997, and in the fiscal year 1998, it is approximately 10%, with 8 points decrease compared with the previous year.
5. (5) In contract to the accident occurrence caused by the products, the occurrences of the accidents caused by the wrong use and carelessness showed the increasing tendency, approximately 37% in the fiscal year 1996, and approximately 41% in the fiscal year 1997, however, it decreases to approximately 36% in the fiscal year 1998. One of the reasons is that 263 cases are still under investigation.

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5. Test for settling the accident information by Ministry of International Trade and Industry

For taking appropriate administrative actions, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry performs test for settling the accident information on those required to unfold the origins among the collected accident information.

In the fiscal 1998, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry performed the 35 tests for settling the accident information (Including the product accident information collected in the fiscal year 1997).

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6. Reoccurrence Prevention Measures in Ministry of International Trade and Industry

As for the accidents caused by the products, from the viewpoint of the accident reoccurrence prevention, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry instructs the makers to take necessary measures and also provides the information (manufacturer's names of the appropriate products, brands, and types) for specifying the appropriate products.

As for the accidents caused by the products, from the viewpoint of the accident reoccurrence prevention, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry instructs the makers to take necessary measures and also provides the information (manufacturer's names of the appropriate products, brands, and types) for specifying the appropriate products. The emergent and serious cases in particular were released in each time it occurred. As for the accidents caused by the products among those unfolded the origins, from the viewpoint of the accident reoccurrence prevention, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry instructs the makers and the related industries to take necessary measures such as intensification of the management of the production process.

To call the attentions of the general consumers, a "folding bicycle" which may cause fracture and falling-down (occurrences of the accidents: 2 cases in the fiscal year 1998) was announced among them (the official announcement is May 1999), and also widely informed to the consumer related organizations by the "Accident Information Special News" of the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation.

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7. Reoccurrence Prevention Measures of Companies

It was the 21 products (22 companies in total) reported to the NITE to be voluntarily recalled, or recalled or replaced by releasing the announcements on the newspaper.

1. (1)The products reported to the NITE to be voluntarily recalled, or recalled or replaced by releasing the announcements on the newspaper are 21 (22 companies in total) such as an electric humidifier, an air cleaner, and a stroboscope for an underwater camera.
2. (2)Besides these, the respective companies took various measures for preventing the reoccurrence such as the improvement of the product, the improvement of the production process, the intensification of the quality control, improvement of the expressions, and the review of the instruction.