By Jenni Ryall From Mashable

SYDNEY — An Australian woman is at the centre of a dangerous cable recall, where dangerous materials were imported from China before being installed in as many as 40,000 Australian homes and businesses.

Lu Luo is the sole trader of Infinity Cable Co Pty Ltd, which she ran with her husband Sam Jedari, its regional business manager. The company, currently in liquidation, was run out of a base in Wetherill Park, Sydney. It had been selling the dodgy cable as far back as 2010.

The 4,000 km of recalled cable had poor plastic insulation coverings, which could lead to fires or electrocutions and does not meet Australian safety standards. An estimate by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commision (ACCC) revealed the cost of the fix could reach $80 million.

This is due to the liquidation of Luo’s company and the fact she is facing criminal charges relating to consumer safety.

It follows the massive recall in late August by the ACCC of faulty electrical cable imported by Luo to sell in Australia. The company’s website said the cable was imported under trademark from Chinese company Zhejiang Wanma Group, China’s largest public-listed cable manufacturing enterprise.

A taskforce set up to work on the recall found the bulk of the $80 million cost would fall on the shoulders of the retailers who sold the cable, News Corporation reported. Woolworths-owned hardware stores sold 40 per cent of the total cable; now they’re hit with a $35 million bill.

The cable, sold in 18 retail outlets including Mitre Ten, Thrifty-Link Hardware, Home Timber & Hardware and Masters Home Improvement, is white Thermoplastic-sheathed cable and Orange Round Infinity mains power cables. Olsent power cables sourced from Infinity Cable Co Pty Ltd have also been recalled.

“Testing has found that the cables will degrade prematurely and if the cables are disturbed, the insulation could break and expose live conductors, resulting in possible electric shock or fires,” ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said in a statement in August.

Sims said that the “recall serves as a reminder that companies sourcing or accepting products from less expensive overseas suppliers must have quality assurance processes in place to ensure the safety of consumers.”

The cables were sold for almost half the price of other cables in Australia, prompting Sims to warn consumers and the retailers of the risk involved in saving money on certain items.

“Consumers usually know that the better the bargain the more wary they need to be,” Sims said. “Consumers would expect companies selling such goods to be wary on their behalf.”

Although there is no immediate danger, as the cables age the risk will increase. The ACCC said the cables will be most dangerous after 2016, due to the rate the plastic will deteriorate, depending on temperature conditions.

Australians who believed they are at risk are being urged to not inspect the cables themselves, but instead to contact a licensed electrician or the original installer of appliances.

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For more on this story go to: http://mashable.com/2014/09/21/infinity-cable-recall-australia/