President signs Drywall Safety Act

In addition, the Act requires the CPSC (within two years) to promulgate a final rule pertaining to drywall manufactured or imported for use in the United States that limits sulfur content to a level not associated with elevated rates of corrosion in the home, unless the CPSC determines that a voluntary standard, developed by Subcommittee C11.01 on Specifications and Test Methods for Gypsum Products of ASTM International, limits sulfur content and it is in effect within the same time period.  The voluntary standard be treated as a consumer product safety rule promulgated under section 9 of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2058). The Act also requires that the CPSC revise its guidance entitled ‘‘Remediation Guidance for Homes with Corrosion from Problem Drywall’’ to specify that problematic drywall removed from homes pursuant to the guidance should not be reused or used as a component in production of new drywall.

The Act also contains a non-binding Sense of Congress provision that states that the Secretary of Commerce should insist that the Government of China, which has ownership interests in the companies that manufactured and exported problematic drywall to the United States, facilitate a meeting between the companies and representatives of the US Government on remedying homeowners that have problematic drywall in their homes and that the Government of China direct the companies that manufactured and exported problematic drywall to submit to jurisdiction in US Federal Courts and comply with any decisions issued by the Courts for homeowners with problematic drywall.