House Passes Contaminated Drywall Safety Act of 2012

On September 19, 2012, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill “To designate drywall manufactured in China a banned hazardous product, and for other purposes.” H.R. 4212, presently titled the “Contaminated Drywall Safety Act of 2012,” would treat Chinese drywall as a banned hazardous substance under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 1261 et seq.) and as an imminent hazard under section 12 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2061). According to H.R. 4212, scientific studies of contaminated drywall manufactured in China between 2001 and 2009 show that such drywall creates a corrosive environment for fire safety alarm devices, electrical distribution components, gas service piping and fire suppression sprinkler systems.

Though driven in part by the desire to prospectively limit the import of such contaminated drywall into the U. S., the bill is also squarely aimed at existing litigation concerning the drywall’s alleged defects. Consequently, the bill states that the U.S. Secretary of State should insist that the Chinese government, which has an ownership interest in the targeted drywall manufacturers, have the companies (1) meet with the U.S. government about providing a remedy to homeowners that have contaminated drywall in their homes; and (2) submit to jurisdiction in U.S. federal court and comply with decisions issues in regards to the contaminated drywall litigation.

The bill would also require the Consumer Protection Safety Commission to establish procedures to exempt certain drywall deemed non-hazardous and establish procedures regarding the disposal and testing of such drywall. Any violation of the proposed legislation would be treated as a violation under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act. The bill now moves on to the Senate for consideration.