Congressman Paul Tonko is calling on the Consumer Product Safety Commission to investigate faulty circuit breakers.

Research by one of Tonko's constituents shows Stab-Lok breakers, which were manufactured by a now-defunct company, may be responsible for more than 100,000 fires over the last four decades. Testing done shows more than half of the breakers failed to trip when overloaded.

When electrical wires overload, circuit breakers are designed to trip, preventing a fire. But electrical engineer Jesse Aronstein says the Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok circuit breaker does not do that.

The Schenectady native has been testing these breakers since the 1980s, when he was hired by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Aronstein says a study conducted by his team found 51 percent of the FPE circuit breakers failed to trip when the electric wires overloaded.  

"These were very popular breakers to install during a boom in housing because they were inexpensive," Aronstein said.  

Federal Pacific Electric no longer exist, but Aronstein says his research estimates millions of homes in the U.S. still have these breakers. He's continuing to call on the CPSC to investigate this and other breakers with a similar design.  

Aronstein approached Tonko with his findings. On Tuesday, Tonko sent a letter to the commission asking them to re-open its investigation on stab-lok circuit breakers and affiliated models. 

"Over the course of 40 years, the numbers speak for themselves," Tonko said. "100,000 fires that may have been caused by these circuit breakers.

The CPSC conducted an investigation in the early 1980s, with a limited budget, and closed it in 1983. 

In a 2011 statement, the commission says it closed the matter without making a determination as to the safety of FPE circuit breakers or the accuracy of the manufacturer’s position on the matter.

Aronstein wants the CPSC to issue a new statement saying there is a hazard with these breakers.

"If they're willing to live with the increased hazard, that's their option," Aronstein said, "but I think people should know there is an increased hazard associated with these breakers.

CPSC did not respond to our request for comments on Wednesday, but the commission previously told The Washington Post, it will be reviewing the information to determine if additional investigation is warranted under its statutes.