Over 15,000 common, everyday products—from toasters to toys—are sold in stores across America. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which has jurisdiction over product safety, about 28,000 people die and more than 33 million are injured each year because the products were misused or had hidden risks. This costs the nation more than $800 billion annually in lost productivity and health care expenses. However, little is known about the health risks when a subset of consumer products are tainted with toxic substances that can cause cancer, developmental disabilities or other devastating health effects. Also, financial products are crucial to helping Americans save, borrow and manage their money, yet they can contain risks that drive up debt and decrease savings.

The Pew Health Group works to better protect Americans by reducing dangerous and unnecessary risks in household and financial products. We increase knowledge about potential threats, and seek to strengthen industry accountability for managing risk as well as improve government authority and enforcement of product safety laws.