Drywall Controversy Forces Out Nancy Nord At CPSC - Finally! (Op-Ed ) Palm Beach Post

[hatrack]

Nancy Nord never should have been running the Consumer Product Safety Commission. It took the Chinese drywall controversy finally to force her out last week, which was good news for the country and especially for Florida.

Ms. Nord never was more than the acting director of the commission, and she did a very bad job of acting like a regulator. A corporate lobbyist before President Bush put her on the commission, Ms. Nord distinguished herself by indifference to the tainted products toys with lead-based paint, toothpaste, peanut butter, playground lumber containing arsenic entering the country. She did rouse herself in 2007 to say that the commission, gutted of staff when Republicans controlled Congress, could stand some new resources. But when Democrats offered more staff and tougher rules, Ms. Nord resisted. High fines for companies, she argued, might be counterproductive.

The latest suspect product from China is drywall, which builders resorted to when the housing bubble and hurricane repairs created a shortage in Florida. For at least six months, homeowners in South Florida have complained of severe respiratory problems and damages to appliances. Some have had to move out of their homes. The Consumer Product Safety Commission's first response was slow, and after weeks of criticism Ms. Nord resigned. Her departure will give the Obama administration a chance to name a real regulator. Once that happens, the commission presumably will become a stronger advocate for the tens of thousands of Floridians who may be affected. Some builders are replacing the drywall at their considerable expense, but most are not.

In another development last week, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it found "suspect material" in some of the imported drywall. The material was not found in U.S.-produced drywall. Aides to U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., suspect that the material may be from acrylic paint, suggesting that paint components were ground up in the drywall.

EDIT

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/content/opinion/epaper/2009/06/01/a12a_drywall_edit_0601.html

[floridablue]

1. Now Manatee Port

Has a whole warehouse full of it since 2006. The importer went bankrupt and didn't accept it and it is all contaminated. 40000 sheets I think the tv news said.

[havocmom]

2. 'Don't cut my budget but don't make me do my job either' WTF?

Good-bye to bad rubbish in this case.

[katandmoon]

3. If she was just the acting director, what was she still doing in the fucking job?