Glass shower doors, glass tabletops, and other consumer products made with tempered glass are sending thousands of Americans to the emergency room every year and most injuries happen without warning. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued a dedicated safety alert on tempered glass and warns that even properly manufactured tempered glass can shatter unexpectedly due to scratches, installation errors, or internal pressure built into the glass during manufacturing.
What Is Tempered Glass and Why Does It Fail
Tempered glass is a type of safety glass that is designed to break into small, rounded fragments rather than large, jagged shards when it fails. This makes it significantly safer than standard glass when broken by a direct impact. However, the tempering process places the surface of the glass under pressure, making it vulnerable to spontaneous fracture from seemingly minor causes: a small scratch from a ring or tool, an installation error that creates stress on the edge, or an imperfection introduced during manufacturing.
When tempered glass shatters spontaneously, it can do so without any apparent cause and without any warning — releasing a large quantity of small, sharp glass fragments instantaneously.
The Injury Data
CPSC data shows that from 2012 through 2016, there were an estimated 2,300 U.S. emergency department visits associated with shattering glass shower and bathtub doors alone. In 2016, an estimated 20,700 injuries associated with glass tables were seen in emergency departments.
Where Tempered Glass Is Found in Consumer Products
- Shower and bathtub enclosure doors and glass sliding doors
- Glass tabletops on dining, coffee, end, and outdoor tables
- Glass desk surfaces
- Glass oven doors and oven windows
- Glass cookware lids and bakeware
- Patio furniture with glass tabletops
What You Should Do
- Inspect glass shower doors, glass table tops, and other tempered glass products regularly for chips, cracks, or scratches — particularly at the edges, which are the most vulnerable points.
- Replace any tempered glass product that shows visible damage, even if the damage appears minor.
- When installing glass shower doors or enclosures, have the installation performed by a qualified professional to ensure edges are not stressed during installation.
- Never drill, cut, or grind tempered glass. Any modification to tempered glass after manufacture can trigger spontaneous shattering.
- Report any spontaneous glass shattering incident to CPSC at SaferProducts.gov.
To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, visit SaferProducts.gov or call CPSC’s Hotline at 800-638-2772.
