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Article snippet: 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. Such regulatory gaps expose how multinational corporations can take advantage of the vulnerabilities in government oversight. The companies, charged with manslaughter. 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 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. 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. The London Fire Brigade has long campaigned to ban such products, even posting videos of burning refrigerators on its website. The group poste... Link to the full article to read more