Based off of a press release submitted by Timothy C. Brightbill and Alan H. Price of Wiley Rein LLP in Washington D.C., United States grating producers are calling for an investigation into Chinese steel grating. A letter was written by several grating producers to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as well as the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in an effort to alert the organizations of the dangers Chinese steel grating.
The United States Department of Commerce, in a recent countervailing duty investigation, discovered falsified documents by Chinese steel grating manufacturers that included mill test certificates. Mill test certificates certify the chemical and physical properties of the steel used in the grating. Many companies require mill certificates of the grating they purchase to make sure that their products are of the utmost high quality. If these certificates are falsified companies are purchasing less than high quality products.
Chemical and physical properties of the steel grating are vital to applications many Americans encounter on a regular basis, including fire escapes, subway platforms, catwalks, pedestrian walkways and various other projects used in the commercial, educational and recreational industries. If these chemical and physical properties of steel grating are not high quality failure of steel grating may occur, and with failure could come serious injury.
In my opinion, many corporations are importing steel grating from China to lower expenses. Unfortunately, lower cost can also prove to be lower quality. I believe, with economic conditions in despair, every company in the United States should try to buy locally when feasible. American made products may have a slightly higher cost, but the extra couple of dollars per product could help the economy immensely, not to mention, the responsibility that corporations hold to safety.
“Domestic Grating Producers Warn OSHA and CPSC About Possible Dangers of Chinese Steel Grating”
