On the eve of the 3rd biennial United States–China Consumer Product Safety Summit, to be held in China, the head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission reported she will press Chinese officials on whether new regulatory standards need to be set for drywall composition. CPSC Chairwoman Inez Tenenbaum said she also would inquire whether the Chinese were willing to provide compensation for the damage from tainted drywall.
In its latest status report on the Chinese drywall issues, the CPSC noted that it had received 1192 consumer complaints, from 24 different states. The majority of the reports continue to be from Florida, Louisiana, and Virginia. The focus of the federal drywall team has remained pursuing the scientific bases of the possible problems, and tracing the chain of commerce of the drywall.
CPSC reports it has completed principal field work for a 50 home indoor air sampling program, coordinated the state and federal response to allegations of radioactive phosphogypsum in Chinese drywall, and completed 75 in-depth site investigations, with another 20 in progress. Long-term air sampling tests will be completed later this month. The evaluation of the results is expected to be complete before November. (Phosphogypsum is a gypsum that has elevated levels of naturally occurring potassium, thorium and uranium radionuclides and decay products.) The CPSC coordinated testing and reporting results for radioactive phosphogypsum contamination in drywall with the Florida Department of Health and the EPA National Air and Radiation Environmental Laboratory. The results of the technical review showed that no radiological hazard was present. EPA is conducting elemental analyses of 15 drywall samples. EPA expects to complete its analyses of drywall samples in the next few weeks.
CPSC continues to analyze the information received from consumers, builders, importers, manufacturers, and suppliers of drywall to determine how much imported drywall may be affected and where that drywall has been installed. To date, CPSC staff has confirmed that during 2006, 6,997,456 sheets of Chinese drywall were imported into the U.S.
As readers of MassTortDefense know, litigation has been filed over the drywall issues, alleging that sulfur levels in the Chinese-made products are abnormally high, causing problems with air conditioning systems, appliances, internal wiring and other electrical systems. Approximately 200 cases are pending in the MDL. In re: Chinese-Manufactured Drywall Products Liability Litigation, No. 09-md-02047 (E.D. La.).
In the MDL , the next status conference is scheduled for Thursday, November 19, 2009. Recently, the court issued an order regarding a “Revised Exporter, Importer, or Broker Defendant Profile Form.” All defendant drywall exporters, importers, or brokers must complete this Profile Form. The form, inter alia, requires information on exemplar transactions concerning the exportation/importation/brokering of Chinese Drywall for import/export to the United States between 2001 and 2009, including but not limited to purchases, sales, consignments, shipments, transfers, deliveries, receipts, or other distributions. The form requires information to identify any markings on the Chinese Drywall product (e.g., lot number, batch number, serial number, color markings, UPC codes, etc.) involved in this transaction; a list all trademarks of the product, and any markings or means of identification employed to track or identify the Chinese Drywall.
The issue of linking the specific product that allegedly harmed a plaintiff to the defendants who made and sold that particular product — often termed “product identification” — is an essential aspect of the cause in fact inquiry and is often problematic in toxic tort litigation.