A new report says some Florida construction workers are claiming that Chinese drywall
was emitting foul odors while they were installing it in newly-built homes. According to The Juice blog at browardbeach.com, construction workers interviewed by attorneys representing homeowners in Chinese drywall lawsuits have also alleged that at some construction sites, steps were taken to cover-up the materials’ odor problem.
Homeowners in at least 16 states have complained that fumes from Chinese-made drywall produce a “rotten eggs” odor and cause metals, such as air conditioning coils, to corrode. The fumes have also been associated with respiratory and sinus problems in some residents. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, the U.S. imported roughly 309 million square feet of drywall from China during the housing boom from 2004 to 2007.
Earlier this month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released results of tests it conducted that compared Chinese drywall to American-made material. The tests found sulfur and two organic compounds associated with acrylic paint in the Chinese drywall that were not present in the American wallboard. The agency said more testing is needed to determine if any of the compounds found in the Chinese drywall are responsible for problems reported by homeowners.
The first complaints about the smells and other problems associated with Chinese drywall were made by Florida homeowners in January. But according to The Juice, some parties involved in the building of homes with tainted drywall knew about odor problems long before the owners moved in. Investigators working for plaintiffs’ attorneys have spoken to construction workers who allege the following:
* Some union workers refused to work with the Chinese drywall because of the severe sulfur-like smell, which they thought meant drywall was rotted and could lead to liability later.
* Some employees of developers figured out that the smell would subside after the drywall was painted, so workers were told to paint quickly in order to mask the smell.
* One builder kept drywall records in a truck “because they didn’t want it in one place.”
What investigators are still trying to determine is how high up the chain of command such alleged attempts to cover up the Chinese drywall’s odor problems may have gone. According to the Juice, it’s not known if supervisors and top management with any builders knew about the smell from the Chinese drywall.
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June 4th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
After reading this article it is one more time demonstrated that this chinese drywall was going to put in risk the health of those living in the houses but the workers did not care about it.
Because the company that imported this drywall was supposed to notice the smell like the workers said when interviewed. also, when the drywall was being distibuted the powerful scents the drywall was giving off were most probably smelt. For example, coming off the boat, in various trucks or being separated for each customer.
Where was the responsability of these people that were just interested in making money, taking advantage of the construction booming.
June 5th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
So we are talking about the same guy the famous Salomon Homsany Abadi “the king of the chinese drywall”. and his company “La Suprema Enterprise” or maybe this other one “Haber Solutions LLC”
What are we waiting for to question this irresponsible merchant so he can pay for all the damages that he caused.
June 9th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
I think that the better way to solve this drywall problem is to leave it on the hands of the CPSC (The U.S consumer product safety commission). Because they know how to find a fairly solution & adjusted to law.
June 27th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
If Mattel will pay 2.3 million dollars in toys contaminated, How much La Suprema must to pay for the problem of the 100.000 Houses with the chinese drywall.
Because they also knew about the drywall problem, the workers in La Suprema also felt the smell of rotten eggs. Because they command to do the analysis in Knauf China at the midle of the sole contract. Look this site.
http://www.chinesedrywall.com/uploads/Enviro_Report_and_Lab.pdf