Statement from the American Medical Manufacturers Association on the Closure of the NIOSH Lab in Pittsburgh, PA.
The statement can be attributed to Eric Axel, the Executive Director of AMMA:
“The American Medical Manufacturers Association strongly condemns the shutdown of NIOSH's National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL), which includes facilities in Pittsburgh, PA, Morgantown, WV, and numerous other locations. This action removes the gold standard certification process that ensures safe, effective PPE protects healthcare workers and patients. Eliminating this lab is a win for foreign competitors - putting China first and American makers of respirators and PPE last.
NPPTL provides the industry with rigorous testing and certification. The lab ensures the American marketplace can differentiate between safe, tested products and untested and potentially dangerous PPE. This decision will put lives at risk during routine care and future public health emergencies.
Eliminating NPPTL creates an immediate and unfair advantage for Chinese manufacturers. Chinese and other foreign producers of respirators and PPE will export lower-cost, uncertified products to the United States without meeting the stringent quality standards domestic manufacturers have invested heavily in achieving. This decision effectively rewards foreign manufacturers who have not made the same investments in quality and safety while punishing American companies that have built their reputations on producing reliable, high-quality protective equipment that meets a global standard.
The announcement threatens to decimate America's growing domestic PPE manufacturing capacity, which proved critical during recent supply chain disruptions. American manufacturers compete against subsidized imports without the quality differentiation the NIOSH lab provides. This will leave our nation dangerously dependent on China and other foreign sources for the medical products essential to our healthcare system and national security.
We urge immediate reconsideration of this decision before irreparable damage is done to patient safety and America's critical manufacturing infrastructure."