Ross Stores Inc., of Pleasanton, California have recalled about 1,800 Marble Top Plant Stands, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) just announced.



The recalled Marble Top Plant Stands' marble top can detach from the base and fall onto consumers, posing a risk of injury. To date, Ross Stores has received two reported incidents in which the marble top fell off the plant stand's base and bruised consumers.



The plant stands have gray marble tops and black wrought iron bases. They were sold in three sizes:



Small: 24 inches tall

Medium: 28 inches tall

Large: 32 inches tall.



The recalled Marble Top Plant Stands, which were manufactured in China, were sold exclusively at Ross Stores nationwide between March 2009 and June 2009 for between $15 and $27.



In recent years, imports from China have been at the center of safety worries in the United States and other countries. For instance, there was a heparin contamination with a counterfeit ingredient linked to dozens of deaths in the U.S., and hundreds of serious reactions here and abroad. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) called for recalls of several foods imported from China that may have been tainted with the industrial chemical melamine; melamine-tainted dairy products hospitalized thousands of children in that country. We have also long been reporting that despite federal lead standards and that many consider lead poisoning to be one of the most important chronic environmental illnesses affecting children today, toys—many imported from China—continue to be made with elements that exceed federal standards and that could pose serious, sometimes fatal, health concerns.



In recent months, the defective Chinese drywall debacle has been making news and plaguing homeowners with sulfur fumes that smell like "rotten eggs" and cause air conditioning coils to corrode as well as sinus and respiratory ailments, eye and skin irritation, persistent runny or bloody noses, headaches, and asthma. Some situations were so severe that residents had to vacate their homes.



The CPSC is advising consumers to immediately stop using the recalled Marble Top Plant Stands and return them to any Ross Store for a full refund. Ross Stores can be reached, toll-free, at 1-800-305-0510 anytime, or at its Web site at www.rossstores.com