CPSC, Cooper Lighting Warn About 500-Watt Halogen Bulbs

Recall Insight

This CPSC action (record #03077) was formally reported on January 30, 2003. It is classified under Moderate severity, with a current status of Active. Cooper Lighting Inc., of Peachtree City, Ga. is listed as the recalling firm. Federal records indicate Nearly 600,000 units are affected, a scale large enough to require multi-state distribution tracking.

The documented reason for this recall is: These 500-watt light bulbs generate very high temperatures, compared to incandescent and lower wattage halogen bulbs and can start a fire, if they come in contact with curtains, clothes or other flammable material. Thes… Distribution information was not included in the agency filing, so consumers should assume broad potential exposure until the firm publishes point-of-sale details. The remedy documented by the agency is: Cooper has asked retailers to add the label to bulb packaging currently on store shelves and new 500-watt halogen bulbs will contain the label. Consumers currently using these 500-watt bulbs in a tor… — consumers holding this product should act on that instruction rather than relying on general guidance.

To put this record in context, PlainRecalls indexes 83,949 recalls across the FDA, CPSC, NHTSA and USDA FSIS going back to 1995. Within the same product category, the database holds 6 closely related recalls, of which 6 were also issued by CPSC. That clustering is a signal — repeated actions in a narrow category often indicate a systemic quality-control issue, a supplier-wide contamination, or a design defect that has propagated across product lines. This recall is roughly 23 years old; older recalls can remain relevant because many units enter resale, rental, and secondary-market channels where the original warning never reaches the end user. Always cross-check the recall number against the official agency page before relying on any summary.