TAMPA, FL -- U.S. Senator Bill Nelson is pushing to have the Consumer Product Safety Commission recall Chinese-made drywall.
Monday, Senator Nelson and Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu filed legislation aimed at initiating the recall and imposing an immediate ban on tainted building products from China.
Nelson and Landrieu's legislation also asks the commission to work with federal testing labs and the Environmental Protection Agency to determine the level of hazard posed by certain chemicals and unidentified organic compounds in the drywall.
The legislation also calls on the commission to issue an interim ban on imports until it can create federal drywall safety standards, so consumers are protected in the future.
Nelson says the drywall is linked to seeping sulfide gases that can corrode electrical wiring and components of air conditioning and other household appliances.
Florida state officials have confirmed the presence of sulfide gases in homes built with the drywall.
Nelson says more people across the country are reporting problems in homes built with imported drywall, between 60,000 to 100,000 homes nationwide may contain the tainted drywall.
In Florida, and estimated 36,000 homes are believed to contain Chinese-made drywall.
Nelson and Landrieu say they're pushing the commission with the hopes of jump-starting a process to help affected homeowners with the costs of repairs or replacing the defective drywall.
