Chinese Drywall Discussed at Capitol Hill Meeting
Date Published: Thursday, September 24th, 2009
Lawmakers yesterday pressed for a speedier Chinese drywall investigation during a closed-door meeting with officials from the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC). According to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, lawmakers from Florida and other affected states are frustrated that the agency has postponed the release of Chinese drywall testing results.
Over the summer, the CPSC had promised that the results from indoor air testing of 50 homes with Chinese drywall would be available in September, but that deadline was pushed back to October. Then, just this week, the CPSC moved the release date to November. According to the Herald-Tribune, there is no release date specified for studies on electrical and fire safety concerns.
The Capitol Hill meeting was attended by Inez Tenenbaum, head of the CPSC. According to the Herald-Tribune, Tenenbaum told attendees that the Chinese drywall investigation is “extremely complex and that there probably will not be a quick fix.”
The meeting came just two days after Tenenbaum visited a home with defective drywall in Florida. As we reported at the time, she indicated that the CPSC would likely not issue a Chinese drywall recall because of logistical consideration. According to The Herald-Tribune, an aide to Tenenbaum has since clarified those statements, and said nothing is off the table. However, because of scope of a drywall problem, it is likely that the CPSC will consider a national remediation program rather than a recall. Such a program could entail some funding for homeowners from the federal government.
Chinese drywall poured into the U.S. between 1999 and 2007 because of the high demand created by the housing boom. Imports accelerated when the rebuilding that followed Hurricane Charley in Florida in 2004, and Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast in 2005, created a drywall shortage. According to The Wall Street Journal, some 500 million pounds of Chinese drywall was imported to the U.S. during the housing boom. That means as many as 100,000 homes throughout the country could have been built with the material.
So far, the CPSC has received 1,311 Chinese drywall complaints from homeowners in 26 states and the District of Columbia. Gases emitted from Chinese drywall are being blamed for significant property damage, including damage to HVAC systems, smoke detectors, electrical wiring, metal plumbing components, and other household appliances. These gases also produce a sulfurous odor that permeates homes, and cause metals, including air conditioning coils and even jewelry, to corrode. People living with Chinese drywall have also suffered eye, respiratory and sinus problems that may be linked to the gases.
Thousands of homeowners have filed lawsuits over the defective wall board. Chinese drywall lawsuits from around the country have been consolidated in a Multidistrict Litigation that is currently underway in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana. The first bellwether trials in that litigation are expected to begin in January.
This entry was posted
on Thursday, September 24th, 2009 at 7:22 am and is filed under Defective Products, Health Concerns.
Lawmakers yesterday pressed for a speedier Chinese drywall investigation during a closed-door meeting with officials from the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC). According to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, lawmakers from Florida and other affected states are frustrated that the agency has postponed the release of Chinese drywall testing results.
Over the summer, the CPSC had promised that the results from indoor air testing of 50 homes with Chinese drywall would be available in September, but that deadline was pushed back to October. Then, just this week, the CPSC moved the release date to November. According to the Herald-Tribune, there is no release date specified for studies on electrical and fire safety concerns.
The Capitol Hill meeting was attended by Inez Tenenbaum, head of the CPSC. According to the Herald-Tribune, Tenenbaum told attendees that the Chinese drywall investigation is “extremely complex and that there probably will not be a quick fix.”
The meeting came just two days after Tenenbaum visited a home with defective drywall in Florida. As we reported at the time, she indicated that the CPSC would likely not issue a Chinese drywall recall because of logistical consideration. According to The Herald-Tribune, an aide to Tenenbaum has since clarified those statements, and said nothing is off the table. However, because of scope of a drywall problem, it is likely that the CPSC will consider a national remediation program rather than a recall. Such a program could entail some funding for homeowners from the federal government.
Chinese drywall poured into the U.S. between 1999 and 2007 because of the high demand created by the housing boom. Imports accelerated when the rebuilding that followed Hurricane Charley in Florida in 2004, and Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast in 2005, created a drywall shortage. According to The Wall Street Journal, some 500 million pounds of Chinese drywall was imported to the U.S. during the housing boom. That means as many as 100,000 homes throughout the country could have been built with the material.
So far, the CPSC has received 1,311 Chinese drywall complaints from homeowners in 26 states and the District of Columbia. Gases emitted from Chinese drywall are being blamed for significant property damage, including damage to HVAC systems, smoke detectors, electrical wiring, metal plumbing components, and other household appliances. These gases also produce a sulfurous odor that permeates homes, and cause metals, including air conditioning coils and even jewelry, to corrode. People living with Chinese drywall have also suffered eye, respiratory and sinus problems that may be linked to the gases.
Thousands of homeowners have filed lawsuits over the defective wall board. Chinese drywall lawsuits from around the country have been consolidated in a Multidistrict Litigation that is currently underway in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana. The first bellwether trials in that litigation are expected to begin in January.
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This entry was posted
on Thursday, September 24th, 2009 at 7:22 am and is filed under Defective Products, Health Concerns.
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September 24th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
Waiting to see what this has done to peoples health if anything!
September 24th, 2009 at 4:45 pm
What are we supposed to do in the mean time, like now? Our “Dream House” was built with “KNAUF” Chinese Drywall. We hired an Attorney. Our Builder “Majestic Homes” from Royal Palm Beach, Florida has not responded to any lawsuits, we heard they are going Bankrupt. We are involved in the Class Action Suit. We had to move out of the house, because it is making us sick, it stinks like rotten eggs, as well as corroding our air conditioning, copper pipes turned black, etc. We applied for a Forebearance with our Mortgage Company, now no one can find all of our paperwork we sent in! We invested over $50,000 Cash in our “Toxic Dream Home” and mortgaged the rest. What are we supposed to do? Foreclose? Lose everything? Ruin our credit? This is not our fault! Who is going to take responsibility for this “Nightmare”? The Chinese Government? The U.S. Government? We all need help now! Not in five more years! The Middle Class Hard Working, Honest, American People are being shoved off to the side and being forgotten! The process is too slow. We need help now? This is a “National Disaster”. Is anybody out there listening to us??
September 25th, 2009 at 4:39 am
I am presently living in a home with chinses drywall built in 2006 in the Cape Coral, Florda. This was suppose to be my dream home to retire to, instead it’s the new home from Hell. Anything and everything has gone wrong. Our air condition coil has been replaced four time, our wiring is turning black and our appliances are going, not to mention our saftey – smoke detector are not working properly, which creates a real danger. Who knows what will happen when the wiring totally corrodes. This is a real mess and this chinese drywall needs to be recalled and the problem fixed.
October 6th, 2009 at 9:28 am
After going through a divorce decided to start my life over in Florida. I went through the proper steps hired a home inspection agency,& purcased my dream home a year ago. Only to find out in June that my dream home was built with KNAUF Chinese Dry wall.My home was making me sick migrains sinus problem, chest pain cognitive difficulties.I had to move out put my stuff in storage and rent a place for my dog & I.Now I have to support two homes have to continue to pay for toxic house and rental.Insuance company isn’t covering,I paid for home owner insurance and loss of use coverage.Isn’t this why you pay for insurance? Government keeps pushing back the date for remediation protocol.Where is the governments help? Why isn’t anyone being held accountable? The government is turing a blind eye to millions of Americans while there american dream poisons them and makes them poor.The government allowed this toxic Chinese Dry wall in, NOW HELP US!!!
October 8th, 2009 at 6:44 am
Don’t blame this problem on the government people. Remember, you voted for all those people. why don’t you put the blame where it most likely is needed. On you…yes you…if people would understand that an event like Katrina could cause national shortages on building products and your own impatience, I need my home now…now I said. For those whom were away from the disaster areas yet felt the pinch. Plain old greed. Has anyone checked to see what the pricing was like? What about the distributors that say they were just filing a need caused by a shortfall because the manufacturers here couldn’t keep up with the demand. Has anyone checked to see how long it took for them to catch up?? Doubtful, let’s have the government take the blame and give us money. I seriously doubt that the Chinese government or the manufacturer will own up for the problem and there’s not really anything we can do about it. Just suck it up and move on people, take responsibility and next time before you vote, ask yourself this, “Is what that candidate is saying, is that what is really important to us/me or to them?”
October 13th, 2009 at 5:42 am
hi when the govermen going to do sometihing with our chinese drywall problem. I hear today they are working with the illegal people problem, but how about the CITIZEN problem. I think we go firts. Please RESOLVE THIS PROBLEM. I live in Florida is imposible live with this odor and a few appliances down. THANK
October 15th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
I am responding to Jim W’s response. Your response was very “Bitter”. How do you know who voted for who? Does it really matter now? This is a National Disaster. Are you a “Victim” or a “Builder” or maybe your a “Contractor” who helped build these toxic houses and maybe you knew about the toxic chinese drywall being installed. It seems like you know quite a bit of information. When someone hires a Builder and pay’s them alot of money, you trust them to build with the finest products, as we were told. At the time, we never considered “Drywall” to be an issue. The house passed all the required inspections. Unfortunatly, drywall is not part of the inspection. We are victims of this nightmare as well as thousands or more in 40 States through out the USA in our same situation. We are losing our “Dream House”, losing “lot’s” of money, our furniture etc, as well as suffering from ailing health problems. We are “Sucking it up” and we have no choice but to move on, because it appears that we are not getting any help at this time, since it will take years for any kind of outcome or settlement, if there will even ever be one. No one gave us any choice of which drywall we wanted, American, Chinese, German. We did have a choice for the texture of the paint. We had choices for other building products and paid extra for the upgrades. If they offered different types of Drywall, we would have had the chance to research it and I would have been very happy to pay more for American Drywall, not for that Chinese Drywall Crap. The Builders were obviously “Greedy” and got the cheaper crap which is “not our fault”. “How Dare You Say That The Homeowners Are Responsible and We Are to Blame!!”. We were all ripped off, and we are all paying the price for it and losing everything.
October 16th, 2009 at 5:55 am
We purchased a new home 06 and had issues. The so called 10 year builders ins in NJ did nothing to resolve them. They had more requirements than getting into heaven. Our politicans created the voting process to keep our mouths shut. That’s their excuse for their screw ups. You and I voted for the wrong guy. I’m 65 and haven’t had the brains to vote for the right one yet. The corruption is rampentand getting worse. It will be our downfall. The few with Honor are losing. Look at your corps etc. Ah hell I could go on and on. Just take care of it yourself fresh wallboard by board. The bank can’t stop you for renovating and of course don’t ask them. Good Luck to those that have been hurt, I truly feel your pain if it helps. Wish I could help, but I’m lucky I’ve been able to help myself.
God Bless
J
October 26th, 2009 at 11:30 am
I believe that the government is waiting for the first fatality case before helping us. In order to fight the odor in my house in Port St Lucie at the Viscaya Falls Community, I had to let the air conditioner running 24/7. But I still have respiratory and irritating eye problems. Only God knows what will happen to us if we continue to live under these conditions.