Chinese Drywall Bill Passes Congress

During the debate and political wrangling over the Fiscal Cliff throughout the New Year’s holiday, Congress, on New Year’s day, passed HR 4212, the Drywall Safety Act of 2012, and sent it to the President for signature.

Unless you were looking for it or following it, you probably missed it.  It is a bill aimed at preventing a repeat of the importation of high-sulfur drywall from any source, but specifically from China, that over time causes corrosion and deterioration of piping and wiring in the facilities where it is installed.

The bill instructs the Secretary of Commerce to contact the Chinese government that owns a major part of the industry in China, and to instruct them that any future drywall that is supplied to the United States be in compliance with the labeling and sulfur content spelled out in ASTM C1264-11.

An additional provision of the act is “Remediation Guidance for Homes with Corrosion from Problem Drywall” aimed at preventing the reuse of any problematic drywall in any other structure.  This provision tries to ensure the proper disposal of that drywall and gives the Consumer Product Safety Commission 120 days to revise the rules for the disposal of any waste from homes and structures where this product was used.

So, if you run into an installation of this type, you should be aware of the new restrictions on the way from Congress.  While both the House and the Senate have passed the bill and sent it to the president for signature, the president has not signed it yet.  He is expected to sign it, and we will let you know as soon as we hear that it is law.