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Check your bindings. Now.

A "voluntary, precautionary" recall program has been launched by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Atomic Skis GmbH,of Austria, for Atomic ski bindings that were produced between 1998 and 2002. The year of manufacture can be located on the underside of the heel lever.

Atomic writes on its Web site that "the heel housing component of these bindings could crack, possibly causing the binding to release early, posing a falling risk to the skier. Therefore, these bindings must no longer be used."

Models affected include the ATOMIC Race, Xentrix, Device, Centro, and DYNAMIC.  These models were sold by Atomic dealers from 1998 through 2005 for between $150 and $350, according to Occupational Health and Safety Online.

Here's the important part: Skiers are advised by OHS and Atomic to stop using these bindings immediately and return them to any authorized Atomic dealer. The dealer will inspect your bindings for free and will replace the heel component if necessary.

More details are available online.