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Material at Center of London Fire Will Not Be Sold for High Rises Products at Center of London Fire Faced Tougher Rules in U.S.
(about 9 hours later)
LONDON — Arconic, the American manufacturing company that sold combustible paneling used in Grenfell Tower, a London housing project that was the site of the deadliest fire here in decades, said Monday it would no longer sell the same type of material for use in high rises. LONDON — Two products made by American manufacturers that played a major role in the deadly inferno in London had been assailed for their fire risks and faced tighter restrictions in the United States.
“We believe this is the right decision because of the inconsistency of building codes across the world and issues that have arisen in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy regarding code compliance of cladding systems in the context of buildings’ overall designs,” the company said in a statement. “We will continue to fully support the authorities as they investigate this tragedy.” Such regulatory gaps expose how multinational corporations can take advantage of the vulnerabilities in government oversight.
The cladding, known as Reynobond PE, has a combustible core and is already barred in the United States for buildings above a certain height. Arconic is expected to be a central part of litigation over the Grenfell fire that is likely to last for years. The companies, Arconic and Whirlpool, are widely expected to be central players in litigation over the fire, which killed at least 79 people this month. The Metropolitan Police have also said they will consider manslaughter among other charges; in Britain, corporations can be charged with manslaughter.
Shares of Arconic, which have been falling steadily since the fire, were down more than 4 percent on Monday. On Monday, Arconic, the American company once known as Alcoa that sold combustible material used at Grenfell Tower, the London housing project that was the site of the fire, said it would no longer sell that kind of paneling for use in high-rises. The product, only slightly cheaper than fire-resistant alternatives, has a polyethylene core that is combustible.
The June 14 fire at the 24-story apartment block has claimed at least 79 lives and forced many more to find accommodation elsewhere. Investigators have found that dozens of other buildings in Britain are clad in the combustible material; one local council has evacuated a building over safety concerns. The use of that material is banned in buildings above a certain height in the United States, and the company included a similar warning about height restrictions in its own brochure in other parts of Europe. Investigators have found 75 buildings across Britain that have similar cladding, and hundreds of apartments were evacuated on Friday amid fears they faced similar fire risks.
The fire at the housing project, located in one of Britain’s wealthiest districts, has heightened frustrations over class inequality. Critics and residents accuse officials at all levels of ignoring repeated warnings of risks to fire safety at Grenfell Tower. Whirlpool made the refrigerator that started the fire, which was sold under its Hotpoint brand. The back of the model in the London fire is made out of plastic, whereas refrigerators sold in the United States typically use metal.
Building residents, industry executives and fire safety experts have all blamed British officials for failing to heed years of warnings — from both inside and outside the country. They have also said Britain’s two major parties have marched headlong to cut safety regulations in the name of promoting business-friendly policies. A formal government inquiry is now underway in Britain. The London Fire Brigade has long campaigned to ban such products, even posting videos of burning refrigerators on its website. The group posted a statement there in February that said it had been lobbying for five years for new appliances to have fully fire-resistant backing — to little avail.
The cladding was added to the building as part of a renovation that concluded in May 2016. “The inquiry itself will be massive, because there are all sorts of interested parties involved,” said Jill Paterson, a partner at Leigh Day, a law firm that has been involved in litigation in notable cases, including the Volkswagen emissions scandal.
The product, which has been marketed by Arconic in Britain for several years, is made of two sheets of aluminum with polyethylene in between. Initial proponents had argued it was pleasing to the eye, as well as energy efficient because it reflected heat and light. “In terms of the first port of call, as far as I’m concerned, it’s what started the fire, and if it was something that was faulty, that’s where you would start,” she said. “But the cladding and all of the other issues are obviously major matters as well that need to be investigated and looked into.”
But the material has been blamed for fires around the world, including in Dubai and China, leading to growing concern about its use. Arconic’s pitch for the product depended on where it was being sold. Arconic stock was down about 6 percent on Monday, a day after a lengthy examination of the fire and the company’s role appeared in The New York Times. The stock has fallen roughly 13 percent since the fire. Whirlpool’s connection has only recently become clear.
Its sales material on the Continent explicitly states that cladding should not be used on facades when buildings are higher than ladders used by firefighters. A company website targeting British customers said that the use of cladding “depends on local building codes.” In a statement, Arconic said it would stop selling the cladding panels, known as Reynobond PE, for use in high-rises. “We believe this is the right decision because of the inconsistency of building codes across the world and issues that have arisen in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy regarding code compliance of cladding systems in the context of buildings’ overall designs,” the company said in the statement. “We will continue to fully support the authorities as they investigate this tragedy.”
Whirlpool said in a statement, “We are working with the authorities to obtain access to the appliance so that we can assist with the ongoing investigations.”
Multinational corporations are often able to capitalize on regulatory differences among countries. While Europe is seen as having more stringent regulation of food and drugs, American rules on many consumer products have been influenced by litigation and insurers. European agrochemical companies have sold genetically modified crops in the United States that are banned in Europe, though America’s tougher regulations on auto emissions contributed to the scandal at Volkswagen.
On both sides of the Atlantic, governments are in a deregulatory mood. President Trump has promised to eliminate two regulations for every new one. In Britain, the decision to leave the European Union is often portrayed by Conservative Party leaders as a means to throw off the bloc’s rules.
But the London fire has highlighted some advantages of regulation. American standards could have reduced or even thwarted the spread of such a fire.
A recent academic study sponsored by the Institute for Refrigeration, a British nonprofit, found that Britain and the United States had roughly proportional amounts of refrigerator fires. But Britain has more deaths, even though it has about a fifth of the population of the United States.
“Whilst there are a number of other differences between the U.K. and U.S. fridges other than the metal backing, including how and where they are used, it is common sense when you see a fridge catch fire that a fire-retardant back would make an impact on fire safety,” said Graeme Maidment, a professor of air conditioning and refrigeration at London South Bank University who was one of the authors of the study.
“For these reasons, we think that it’s time to look at this again.”
Even if the fire was started by the refrigerator, many fire safety experts point to the cladding, which was installed during a refurbishment finished last year, as a crucial factor in the rapid spread of the fire. Cladding has been blamed for numerous fires over the years, including several in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.
In London, experts have cited a number of other factors for the Grenfell tragedy, from the insulation under the paneling to the lack of fire alarms and sprinklers. The evacuation of Chalcots Estate on Friday was prompted by various failings, including missing fire doors, insulation used on gas pipes and plywood used above doors.
As the investigation continues, building residents, industry executives and fire safety experts have blamed British officials for failing to heed warnings — from inside and outside the country.
In February, the London Fire Brigade published side-by-side videos of refrigerators with plastic and metal backs to show how much more severely fired affected the plastic version.
“The doors and side panels of most fridges and freezers are usually covered in metal,” the brigade said in its statement then, “but many still use a flammable plastic backing, which offers very little protection against the foam inside catching alight if a fire starts.”
The brigade also said new proposals from a standard-setting body based in Switzerland — the International Electrotechnical Commission — would not solve the problem. Gabriela Ehrlich, a spokeswoman for the commission, said the group’s standards had been updated to improve the fire resistance of refrigerators, though the group does not dictate what kind of material is used.
Arconic and Whirlpool have said they met regulatory requirements.
“The back panel is made of a type of plastic — used in refrigerators throughout the industry,” Whirlpool said in its statement. “Our products meet all mandatory regulatory and safety standards.”
Arconic has said “regulations and codes vary by country and need to be determined by the local building code experts.”