EW editor, Debbie Eales.
A while ago, I was talking about the trade in counterfeit and substandard goods. Now, news reaches me of a cable recall affecting up to 40,000 homes and businesses in Australia and costing an estimated £43m. And electrical wholesalers have been left picking up the pieces.
The distributor is in liquidation, the owner has criminal charges against her and a taskforce comprising 21 consumer agencies and regulatory bodies, the largest ever assembled, has started to destroy and replace around 2,500 miles of potentially hazardous cable before it causes electrocution or fire.
The recalled cable was made in China, imported by the Sydney-based Infinity Cable Co Pty Ltd and comprises many sizes and configurations of domestic mains power cables branded ‘Infinity’ and ‘Olsent’.
Tests found that the cables do not comply with the ageing requirements of the electrical safety standard, AS/NZS 5000. The plastic insulation and sheathing becomes brittle within a short period and cracks if disturbed, exposing the copper conductors and potentially causing electric shocks, short circuits or fires.
Between 2010 and 2013, it was sold in electrical wholesalers and hardware stores across Australia. These businesses have been left with the bill for the recall, equating to millions of dollars and installers now have the huge task of removing and replacing affected cable.
“Recalls of this magnitude are rare but it serves as an important reminder of how we can all help to avoid similar incidents here in the UK,” Dr Jeremy Hodge, chief executive of the British Approvals Service for Cables BASEC, tells us.
In this case, when the cable was first supplied to hardware chains and electrical wholesalers it came with papers saying it met Australian standards. But later testing found that it did not.
BASEC is advising wholesalers and electricians to be vigilant and always look for markings on the cable to say it has been independently tested and approved. All BASEC approved cables are regularly tested for ageing and many other properties.
Debbie Eales (Editor)
