I 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4212 

To designate drywall manufactured in China a banned hazardous product, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 19, 2012 

Mr. RIGELL (for himself, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. POSEY, Ms. WASSERMAN

SCHULTZ, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. DIAZ-BALART, 

Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. FORBES, and Mr. 

BUCHANAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on 

Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To designate drywall manufactured in China a banned 

hazardous product, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Contaminated Drywall 

5 Safety Act of 2012’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Between 2001 through 2009, contaminated 

2 drywall manufactured in China was imported into 

3 the United States and used in home construction. 

4 (2) It has been found through scientific studies, 

5 including a study by Sandia National Laboratories 

6 in New Mexico, that the contaminated drywall im7 ported from China creates a corrosive environment 

8 for fire safety alarm devices, such as smoke and car9 bon monoxide alarms; electrical distribution compo10 nents, such as receptacles, switches, and circuit 

11 breakers; and gas service piping and fire suppression 

12 sprinkler systems installed in the affected homes. 

13 (3) Based on these scientific findings, the 

14 United States Consumer Product Safety Commission 

15 issued an updated Remediation Protocol for Homes 

16 with Problem Drywall on March 18, 2011, which 

17 recommends the replacement of all contaminated 

18 drywall and replacement of fire safety alarm devices, 

19 electrical distribution components, and gas service 

20 piping and fire suppression sprinkler systems. 

21 (4) In addition, homeowners with contaminated 

22 drywall from China have indicated that the drywall 

23 releases a strong sulfur-like odor that renders the 

24 home uninhabitable. 


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1 (5) Companies in China that manufactured and 

2 exported the contaminated drywall to the United 

3 States have refused to meet with United States offi4 cials, including representatives of the Consumer 

5 Product Safety Commission, have not provided fi6 nancial assistance to homeowners with contaminated 

7 drywall from China, and have not submitted to juris8 diction in United States Federal Courts that are 

9 hearing cases on contaminated drywall from China. 

10 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con11 gress that— 

12 (1) the Secretary of State should insist that the 

13 Government of the People’s Republic of China, 

14 which has ownership interests in the companies that 

15 manufactured and exported contaminated drywall to 

16 the United States, have the companies meet with 

17 representatives of the United States Government on 

18 remedying homeowners that have contaminated 

19 drywall in their homes; and 

20 (2) the Secretary of State should insist that the 

21 Government of the People’s Republic of China have 

22 the companies that manufactured and exported con23 taminated drywall submit to jurisdiction in United 

24 States Federal Courts and comply with any decisions 


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1 issued by the Courts for homeowners with contami2 nated drywall. 

3 SEC. 3. BAN ON CONTAMINATED DRYWALL. 

4 (a) TREATMENT AS BANNED HAZARDOUS SUB5 STANCE.—Any contaminated drywall shall be treated as 

6 a banned hazardous substance under the Federal Haz7 ardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 1261 et seq.) and as 

8 an imminent hazard under section 12 of the Consumer 

9 Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2061). 

10 (b) TREATMENT AS A REGULATION UNDER THE

11 FEDERAL HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES ACT.—The ban im12 posed under subsection (a) shall be treated as regulations 

13 of the Commission promulgated under or for the enforce14 ment of section 2(q) of the Federal Hazardous Substances 

15 Act (15 U.S.C. 1261(q)). 

16 (c) ADDITIONAL REGULATIONS.— 

17 (1) EXEMPTION.—Not later than 180 days 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commis19 sion shall promulgate a rule that allows the Commis20 sion to exempt certain drywall that the Commission 

21 has determined to be non-hazardous. 

22 (2) DISPOSAL AND TEST.—Not later than 180 

23 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

24 Commission shall promulgate a rule on— 

25 (A) the disposal of— 


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1 (i) contaminated drywall, including 

2 during remediation or renovation; and 

3 (ii) any such drywall that was im4 ported into the United States but not used; 

5 and 

6 (B) a standard test to identify any such 

7 drywall. 

8 SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT. 

9 (a) PENALTIES.—Any failure of a person subject to 

10 a requirement of section 3 to comply with such require11 ment shall be treated as a violation of section 4 of the 

12 Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 U.S.C. 1263) and 

13 subject to the penalties set forth in section 5 of such Act 

14 (15 U.S.C. 1264). 

15 (b) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

16 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 

17 the next 2 years, the Commission shall submit to Congress 

18 a report on the actions taken by the Commission to en19 force the provisions of this Act, including a summary of 

20 the criminal and civil penalties imposed under subsection 

21 (a). 

22 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this Act: 

24 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

25 means the Consumer Product Safety Commission. 


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1 (2) CONTAMINATED DRYWALL.—The term 

2 ‘‘contaminated drywall’’ means drywall that are 

3 goods of the People’s Republic of China classifiable 

4 under subheading 6809.11.00 or 6809.19.00 of the 

5 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States. 

Æ 


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