If you are still watching that old television set after more than eight years, beware.

The Shanghai Consumers' Rights and Interests Protection Commission issued a warning yesterday, saying old TVs are a potential safety threat, citing bursting and electrical fires.

The warning is based on several recent complaints about the accidents caused by old TVs used for many years. Officials said many people still watch old TV sets and people over 50 tend to keep their old appliances.

"It's a problem often ignored by consumers who won't buy a new set until the old one totally breaks down," said Wang Dong, an official of the commission's Consumer Guidance Department.

He said the problem is not confined to televisions, but includes other old and overused home appliances, such as refrigerators, though the number of complaints is small.

In a case in Minhang District, a woman surnamed Zhou complained that the family's TV set burst, causing a devastating apartment fire. She is seeking compensation from the television manufacturer.

The set was purchased in 1996 and had been working normally until March, when one day the screen flashed and the set made sizzling noises.

The screen then went black and the set gave off a strange smell. Though Zhou unplugged it and went out immediately for a repairman, but her apartment was on fire when she returned and most belongings were destroyed.

Fire investigators blamed the blaze on the TV - the internal workings caught fire before Zhou unplugged the electricity.

Similar accidents have occurred with old fridges. In the summer of 2003, a refrigerator also caused a fire in an apartment.

The commission has urged the home appliance industry association to add warnings about old appliances to instruction booklets. But association officials said there are no mandated standards on the "lifespan" of TVs and any appliances, except for gas water heaters.

But there are recommendations on use limits: TVs 8 to 10 years and refrigerators 10 to 15 years.

(Shanghai Daily May 10, 2006)