Senator Webb Calls on Government Agencies to Expedite Safety Analyses on Chinese Drywall

 Washington, DC– Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) today called on the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to complete ongoing tests and evaluations concerning Chinese-imported drywall “without further delay.” The Senator wrote, “Every day that the results of these tests are delayed means more families pushed into bankruptcy and financial ruin.”

Hundreds of Virginia families and businesses have suffered both physically and financially from tainted drywall—imported from China during the U.S. housing boom.  As Senator Webb stressed in his letter to both agencies, many of the legal and financial remedies that have been proposed are dependent on the results of the scientific and technical tests currently being conducted by the two agencies.

“I wish to emphasize my strong belief that a rapid resolution of these assessments is urgently needed,” Webb wrote. “I have heard directly from a number of constituents about the extreme emotional, physical, and financial hardship they continue to face as they struggle to maintain payments on houses that have been rendered uninhabitable, while also paying for a place to live and often dealing with health issues stemming from contaminated homes.”

Senator Webb specifically called on the Consumer Product Safety Commission and EPA to expedite analyses involving: elemental and chemical testing; chamber testing; in-home indoor air sampling; and electrical and fire safety engineering.

Since April 2009, Senator Webb’s office has made a number of inquiries into possible federal support for Virginians who have suffered as a result of Chinese drywall.  Just yesterday, Senators Webb and Mark Warner asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to assist affected homeowners and businesses with temporary relocation support and other emergency assistance routinely provided individuals impacted from manmade and natural disasters.

A full copy of Senator Webb’s letter to the Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and Administrator of the EPA follows. To download a pdf of the letter, please click here.

For a one-pager outlining Senator Webb’s efforts on this issue, please click here.

 

 

October 9, 2009


The Honorable Inez Tenenbaum        The Honorable Lisa Jackson
Chairman                                Administrator
Consumer Product Safety CommissionEnvironmental Protection Agency
4330 East-West Highway        1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Bethesda, MD 20814                   Washington, DC 20460

 

Dear Chairman Tenenbaum and Administrator Jackson:

I write to urge that the tests and evaluations concerning Chinese-imported drywall that are currently underway by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency be completed without further delay.  Every day that the results of these tests are delayed means more families pushed into bankruptcy and financial ruin.

I have heard directly from a number of constituents about the extreme emotional, physical, and financial hardship they continue to face as they struggle to maintain payments on houses that have been rendered uninhabitable, while also paying for a place to live and often dealing with health issues stemming from contaminated homes.  My office has been working to assist these individuals in exploring what remedies and protections might be available to them.  Many of the legal and financial remedies that have been proposed are dependent on the results of the scientific and technical tests currently being conducted by your agencies.

I wish to emphasize my strong belief that a rapid resolution of these assessments is urgently needed.


It is my understanding that the following analyses are currently being conducted:

• Elemental and chemical testing
• Chamber testing
• In-home indoor air sampling
• Electrical and fire safety engineering analyses

These and any other assessments related to Chinese drywall must be completed with all haste, and their results made public without delay.  Thank you for your attention to this critically important issue.  I look forward to your response.


Sincerely,

        

Jim Webb

United States Senator

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