Author Archive

« Older Entries

Homeowner Foots the Bill for His Own Repairs

Thursday, December 31st, 2009

Toxic Chinese drywall is said to have entered the United States during late 2000 or early 2001 and reached peak use between 2004 and 2006.  Houses are often built with materials (drywall) from several sources and investigators have discovered a mixture of good and tainted drywall in most cases.  This makes it potentially easy to pass by a handful of tainted boards that could ruin a home or potentially cause a health risk to occupants.

Homeowners have also made claims of  severe allergic reactions to the gases given off by the toxic boards.  Symptoms have ranged from a runny nose/cough with a headache to upper respiratory irritation, nose bleeds, and worse.

Many feel that the federal government should come to the aid of homeowners, such as Brian Eisenberg of Boynton Beach, Florida.  However, many homeowners feel that help isn’t coming fast enough.

Eisenberg’s six-bedroom home was built with Chinese drywall in 2007 and he believes the drywall is responsible for damages to his home and health.  Last week work started at Eisenberg’s house to gut and repair all damages caused by the drywall.  Eisenberg is footing the bill by himself because he’s frankly tired of waiting.

“We’re spending a lot of money without any aid from the government or any other agency to do this,” says Eisenberg “Because the government is dragging its feet in setting protocol, we have to basically take it above and beyond what we think the government is going to expect for remediation.”

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Chinese Drywall | No Comments »

FTC Warns Consumer of Bogus Toxic Drywall Kits

Thursday, December 31st, 2009

The Federal Trade Commission issued the following statement this month.  There are currently no federally approved test-kits or recommended methods of repair for tainted Chinese drywall.  The statement warns that any such kits on the market are fraudulent and should be reported.

Some U.S. homes built between 2003 and 2008 contain imported drywall, known in the press as Chinese drywall. Some consumers who live in these homes have reported problems, including a strong sulfur smell, like rotten eggs; health issues, like irritated and itchy eyes and skin, difficulty breathing, a persistent cough and headaches; and premature corrosion or deterioration of certain metal components in their homes, like air conditioner coils and wiring behind electrical outlets and inside electrical panel boxes.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is the lead federal agency investigating damage to homes blamed on imported drywall. The effort to identify the causes of the damage also involves the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Other federal agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, and state law enforcement and health authorities are investigating the issue, as well.

The Federal Interagency Task Force has performed significant testing of drywall and homes, and found a strong association between the problem drywall, the hydrogen sulfide levels in homes with that drywall, and corrosion in those homes.

The FTC says homeowners should be on the alert for anyone trying to sell test kits, inspections, and quick fixes for tainted drywall. The Federal Interagency Task Force is studying testing and remediation protocols for affected homes, but no federally-approved testing kits or remediation methods currently exist.

You can learn more about the federal government’s drywall investigation, and sign up for email alerts, at www.drywallresponse.gov. To file a complaint, visit the CPSC at www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/drywall.aspx, call toll-free, 1-800-638-2772 or email, info@cpsc.gov.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters consumer complaints into the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database and investigative tool used by hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Chinese Drywall | No Comments »

HUD Relief for Chinese Drywall Possibly on the Way

Thursday, December 31st, 2009

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development may soon offer relief to victims of toxic Chinese Drywall.  Thousand of homes were built across the United States during 2004 and 2005 using bad drywall shipped here from China.
Toxic drywall is often hard to detect.  Houses are often built with drywall coming from multiple providers making it even harder to track down.  However, when exposed to high humidity and heat the drywall will emit foul sulfur gases that are reported to have been corrosive to copper wiring/other metal components.  Homeowners also claim to have had health problems such as irritated and itchy eyes and skin, difficulty breathing, persistent cough, bloody and runny noses, recurrent headaches, sinus infections, and asthma attacks as a direct result of Chinese drywall.
Sen. Nelson announced last week that the Department of Housing and Urban Development is deciding on how to provide relief to residents in need of assistance.
“HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development will shortly be issuing guidance making it clear that actions to remediate drywall can be eligible for assistance under the Community Development Block Grant program,” writes HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan to Sen. Nelson.
“This is the first time that the federal government clearly has identified a possible way to fix the drywall,” said Sen. Nelson in a statement to the media. “Hopefully we’ll get the guidelines within a couple of weeks.”

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Chinese Drywall | No Comments »

Less testing, More Fixing

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

“In ways still to be determined, hydrogen sulfide gas is being created in homes built with Chinese drywall,” a CPSC statement regarding Chinese drywall said. “Earlier studies found large amounts of elemental sulfur in the Chinese drywall.”
The CPSC acknowledges Chinese drywall, rotten egg-smelling hydrogen sulfide gas, and the corrosion of metal/wiring in U.S. homes having a “strong association”.  No official studies have been released with regards to the claims of nose bleeds, bronchitis, dizziness, headaches, fatigue, and irritated eyes as a direct result of exposure to the tainted drywall.
“We’re still working towards that specific nexus between the health effects reported to us and the drywall itself,” says Wolfson. “That’s a commitment we certainly have to these affected families. We’ve been in those homes. We’ve felt it. I felt it, the chairman of CPSC has felt it.”
However some feel the CPSC should spend more to fix the problem at hand and less “testing”.  Construction Consultant Michael Foreman says the CPSC is “putting all [its] eggs into one basket”.
“They [CPSC] did extensive analysis,” Foreman says. “But they’re still overlooking the biological or the organic aspect of it, and concentrating on the mineral reaction of it. And I’m not 100 percent sure that’s going to be as fruitful as they all seem to think.”

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Chinese Drywall | No Comments »

Sean Payton, Lead Plaintiff in Class-Action Suit

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

Sean Payton, coach of the Saints was chosen to be the lead plaintiff in a 591 page class-action suit filed against Knauf Plasterboard Tainjin Co. Ltd. Knauf Plasterboard Tainjin Co. Ltd. Was responsible for manufacturing drywall that is believed to be related to the corrosion of copper wiring and other metal in the home.  This drywall is also suspected of causing health problems ranging from a runny nose or a head-ache to severe allergic reactions, nose bleeds, and upper respiratory irritation.
Payton was chosen to be lead plaintiff because he was one of the first in his area to report electrical failures and allergic reactions to the drywall in his own home says Attorney Daniel Becnel Jr.
“It really upset him a lot because this was all going on while he was trying to prepare for training camp,” Attorney Becnel said.
About 2,100 people signed up to be apart of the suit filed Wed. Dec. 9th 2009 against Knauf Plasterboard Tainjin Co. Ltd.  Some 600 people were late getting on board with this suit.  However, Russ Herman, lead plaintiff counsel in the national litigation plans to file those 600 into an overseas complaint.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Chinese Drywall | No Comments »

Chinese Drywall- Possible Health Risks

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

Toxic Chinese drywall is said to have first entered the United States in late 2000 or early 2001 and it reached it’s peak use between 2004 and 2006.  Reports of houses smelling of rotten-eggs and charred electrical wiring spread quickly throughout the US.      Many federal agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, plus many state health departments are investigating Chinese drywall.  The goal of the investigation is to determine it’s potential risk to the health of residents and how destructive it is to other building materials.
Reports state that insurance claims submitted by homeowners affected by toxic drywall to replace the defective drywall have been denied.  Insurance companies have denied these claims because many federal agencies have not yet pinpointed the problem definitely.
`Testing conducted by manufacturer consultants found low levels of carbonyl sulfide and carbon disulfide gases, which are colorless and smell similar to rotten eggs.
Residents have made reports of a “rotten egg” smell in their homes, also blackened and corrosive metal components.  Health symptoms such as irritated and itchy eyes and skin, difficulty breathing, persistent cough, bloody and runny noses, recurrent headaches, sinus infections, and asthma attacks have also been reported.

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Chinese Drywall | No Comments »

Sen. Nelson Encourages Obama to Confront Chinese Government

Sunday, July 19th, 2009

Two Chinese manufacturers that have been identified using the defective Chinese drywall are currently being investigated.  One of these companies, Knauf Tianjin, is a subsidiary of the German-based Knauf International GmbH.  Knauf has financial interest in USG Corp., who has a U.S. Gypsum division that makes domestic “sheetrock”.  L&W supply, also owned by USG, one of the suppliers responsible for distributing Chinese drywall throughout Florida.

The second company that is under investigation, Taishan Gypsum, has an even more complicated parentage.  Taishan Gypsums website claims that the company also goes by the name Shandong Taihe Dongxin Co. Ltd.  In March 2005 the Beijing New Building Materials Group Co. Ltd., also known as BNBM, acquired BNBM.  BNBM is one of the largest building materials manufacturers in China and is also owned by the Chinese Government.

The Beijing New Building Materials Group’s webpage states that it is “one of the most important and integrated” parts of the China National Building Materials Group Co.  The China National Building Materials Group Co., or CNBM, is a “state-owned enterprise in charge of administrative affairs in building material industry.”

This poses a problem when confronted with the task of deciding whom to go after.  Sen. Nelson encourages Pres. Obama to directly confront the Chinese Government about the problem, Nelson commented, “You know, it might actually turn out to be easier to go after such a company, because we could deal with them government to government, but we’ll see.”

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Chinese Drywall | No Comments »

Sen. Nelson Visits Houses Affected by Toxic Drywall

Sunday, July 19th, 2009

United States Senator Bill Nelson made his first public visit to homes affected by toxic Chinese drywall on Monday April 6 2009. Nelson visited the homes affected in the Coral Lakes neighborhood in Cape Coral, Georgia.
Sen. Nelson feels that the Consumer Product Safety Commission has not dealt with the situation with the sense of urgency it deserves.

Here’s what Nelson had to say about Chairwoman Nancy Nord of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, “The administration [Obama Whitehouse] will have to replace her.”  Spokesman for the commission, Joe Martyak, accuses Nelson of being too quick to demand a recall, “The consumer is best protected by a thorough investigation of the facts and then appropriate solutions.  It’s premature in the decision process to call for a recall before you have the facts.”  Martyak says that Nord intends serve her full term.

On his visit Nelson called for stronger action to be taken by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.  Nelson also stated that cooperation of other government agencies is imperative in resolving the matter.

While United States agencies such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission have no regulatory authority over foreign companies, they can go after any assets inside the United States belonging to foreign companies.  “We need to start seizing those assets,” Sen. Nelson said.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Chinese Drywall | 1 Comment »

Trouble Finding the Source of Toxic Drywall

Sunday, July 19th, 2009

Sulfur gases emitted from toxic Chinese drywall have been found to cause corrosion of metals in close proximity.  Oxidation occurs mainly in copper wiring, copper plumbing, air-conditioning machinery/ducting.  The sulfur gasses can damage carpet, clothes, furniture, and other fabrics as well.  Personal items such as jewelry, electronic devices, and appliances have also been reportedly damaged by the sulfur-emitting drywall.  Once personal belongings/building materials have been damaged by toxic drywall they must be replaced.

The drywall was manufactured with a high content of gypsum, a naturally occurring mineral.  According to a spokeswoman for the drywall manufacturer Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co., a subsidiary of Knauf International GmbH, the company has traced some of their toxic drywall to a mine in the Shandong province of China.

Knauf Tianjin continues to cooperate with United States officials on resolving the matter.  However, they feel that they are being singled-out for acknowledging the problem while other manufacturers have not.

The United States imported around 309 million square ft. of drywall from China during a construction boom from 2004- 2007 caused by successive hurricanes and increased demand for housing.  309 million square ft. is only enough material to build around 35,000 homes however, many more are expected to contain the toxic drywall.  A lot of homes are built using material from a number of suppliers, making the exact number of homes containing toxic drywall is difficult to predict.  One major difficulty in finding the bad drywall is that it is often unclearly labeled or that the label has been damaged during installation, making it harder to identify the manufacturer.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Chinese Drywall | No Comments »

Possible Health Risks of Chinese Drywall Still Unknown

Sunday, July 19th, 2009

Reports of toxic Chinese drywall have spread from a few homes in Florida to hundreds more in several other states throughout the country.  Growing worries and complaints have driven homeowners to file lawsuits and seek aid from lawmakers.  Some homeowners have left their homes for fear of becoming sick.

Thus far, two United States Senators have proposed to ban particular Chinese drywall imports.  Unfortunately, the actual health risks of toxic Chinese drywall are still largely unknown. Homeowners continue to blame the drywall for headaches, bloodynoses, and other allergy symptoms while the Florida Health Department’s investigation concluded that the gasses emitted from the “toxic” drywall posed no health risk.

Morton Lippmann, a professor of environmental medicine at New York University, has reviewed the findings of recent tests performed by the Florida Health Departments on Chinese drywall.  Mr. Lippmann is not involved in any lawsuits filed against manufacturers, Mr. Lippmann says, “It seems more likely that it’s a nasty odor problem, as opposed to something acutely toxic.”

However, toxicologist Nachman Brautbar, a clinical professor at the University of Southern California School of Medicine has also reviewed the same findings and says that, “Sulfur compound gases, even at low levels, have been found to cause respiratory problems, this clearly needs more study.”

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Chinese Drywall | No Comments »

New Indicators for Toxic Drywall

Sunday, July 19th, 2009

Americas Watchdog warns homeowners that toxic Chinese drywall problems occur outside of Florida as well, similar reports of houses smelling of rotten-eggs and charred electrical wiring have spread as far as he Pacific Northwest.  “We actually believe we will find more sub-divisions in Arizona’s Phoenix and Tucson metro areas, California’s Riverside County, Stockton, the Scramento metro, Modests, Fresno, San Jose, the Portland, Oregon metro, and the Seattle, Tacoma, Washington metro areas.  In addition the toxic Chinese drywall is all over the Washington DC metro, New Orleans and it covers the entire states of Texas and Hawaii.” says Americas Watchdog.

A shortage in American building materials combined with successive hurricanes is said to have caused the importation of bad material on a grand scale.  Toxic Chinese drywall is said to have first entered the United States in late 2000 or early 2001 and it reached it’s peak use between 2004 and 2006.  Most houses are built with materials (drywall) from several sources and it is common for investigators to find a mixture of good and tainted drywall.  This makes it potentially easy to pass by a handful of tainted boards that could ruin a home or potentially cause a health risk to it’s occupants.

A new list of possible indicators of toxic Chinese drywall has been released to the public:

* Pull off five or six electrical face plates (Do Not Touch The Wires). If the copper ground wire or the electrical wires have turned black, or are charred, you should contact the Homeowners Consumer Center immediately at 866-714-6466, or contact them via their web site at Http://HomeownersConsumerCenter.Com
* Homeowners who live in a home with toxic Chinese drywall may be suffering severe upper respiratory issues, headaches, nose bleeds, or other severe medical indications. According to the Homeowners Consumer Center, “one thing we hear all the time is, I feel terrible, or sick, when I am in the house. I go on vacation, or leave for a few days, and I feel better.”
* The home may have a slight or strong, sulfur, rotten egg or even acid type smell.
* Air conditioning coils, stove top oven elements, and or refrigerators may be failing at an usually high rate. According to the Homeowners Consumer Center, “we have talked to hundreds of people who have gone through three or four air conditioning coils since 2006.
* Silver jewelry or silver wedding plates or flat ware may be tarnishing within months or even weeks.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Chinese Drywall | No Comments »

Chinese Drywall Tested by Florida Health Department

Sunday, July 19th, 2009

Complaints about toxic Chinese drywall have exploded for months.  Most complaints are concentrated in the south of Florida.  Homeowners have complained of new homes smelling like rotten eggs (sulfur gases) so strong they were forced to leave.

It has been determined that this drywall is responsible for corrosive damage of electrical wiring, plumbing, air conditioning machinery/ducting, appliances, furniture, jewelry, and many other parts of the home.

Reports of health problems ranging from allergy symptoms and bloody noses to respiratory problems have also been made.  Florida Health Department’s toxicologist has visited homes that were built using tainted drywall to investigate whether or not it poses a health risk to families exposed to it in their homes.  These tests will also determine if the sulfur gases emitted from the drywall are in fact responsible for the corrosion of various components of the home.

Lennar Homes, who has acknowledged using the tainted Chinese drywall, has released the results of a series of their own series of tests conducted by Environ International.  The results of an air test concluded that carbon disulfide, carbonyl sulfide, and dimethyl sulfide were present.  However, the highly toxic compound hydrogen sulfide, was not found in the air but was found in the drywall itself.  Lennar Homes reports that levels of gases found in the houses were below what would be considered a health risk, but the reality of this statement will come from the Florida Department of Health when results are final.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Chinese Drywall | No Comments »

« Older Entries