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US Firm Stops Selling Cladding Used in Grenfell Tower


The burnt Grenfell Tower apartment building standing testament to the recent fire in London, June 23, 2017.
The burnt Grenfell Tower apartment building standing testament to the recent fire in London, June 23, 2017.

The American company which made cladding used London's Grenfell Tower, where 79 people died after the building caught fire, has said it will stop global sales of the product.

U.S.-based Arconic cited “inconsistencies in building codes around the world” for stopping the sales. The company's shares fell over 11 percent after it was linked to the blaze in London.

Hours after the announcement from Arconic, the Department for Communities and Local Government said that samples from 75 high-rises in England had failed fire safety tests.

The tests were initiated following the Grenfell Tower fire. Grenfell's exterior insulation is thought to have been responsible for the rapid acceleration of the blaze, resulting in the deaths of at least 79 people, fire officials said.

Grenfell Tower and many of the buildings tested are all part of government-run, low-cost, public housing developments.

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