Top US safety officials are meeting with their Chinese counterparts to seek help for US homeowners complaining of damage from suspect drywall imported from China.
Consumer Products Safety Commission Chairman Inez Tenenbaum said yesterday that apart from discussing compensation, her agency also is urging China to help set standards for drywall products to help prevent future problems.
“All we’re asking is for them to realize that in the global economy everyone has to be responsible to the end user, the consumer. We’re asking them to participate in this in ways that are just and fair,” Tenenbaum said.
US construction companies imported the drywall, also known as wallboard or gypsum board, at the height of the housing boom, when building materials were in short supply. The drywall apparently causes a chemical reaction, releasing fumes that reek like rotten eggs and grows worse with heat and humidity.
US homeowners, mostly in the southeast, say the drywall is making them sick and corroding wiring throughout their homes.
Lawmakers from the states of Florida and Louisiana and elsewhere are pressing Tenenbaum for answers about its safety.
Tenenbaum, who was in China for annual seminars on product safety and regulations, said commission staff were meeting with officials from Beijing’s product safety watchdog, the Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantine.
“We’ve been continuing our dialogue with them on what we’re finding and keeping them up to date on the situation,” she said.
The drywall problem is the latest in a slew of product safety troubles that have prompted a tightening of standards and enforcement both in China and overseas.
Tenenbaum said the Chinese side had helped with technical aspects of her agency’s investigation.
“They have been most cooperative in that regard,” she said.
The commission delegation was also updating the Chinese side on US regulations. Among them is the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which took effect in August and imposes heavy fines for violation of rules meant to protect children from lead, which can cause irreversible brain damage.
RSS