The Washington Post’s Ed O’Keefe looks at the Consumer Product Safety Commission one year after Congress granted CPSC more money and power to set product safety standards. O’Keefe reports that recalls of dangerous products are down slightly this year compared to last year. That’s good to know — but what is it supposed to mean? It could mean that the agency is less aggressive now about recalling unsafe toys, furniture and gagdets — or it could mean, more encouragingly, that manufacturers are making fewer dangerous products.

One way to solve this riddle is the implementation of a national, public database that records product-related incidents, injuries and deaths. This was a centerpiece of Congress’s overhaul of CPSC — O’Keefe only reports that the agency is putting the “finishing touches” on the database.

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