Some Chinese drywall victims in Louisiana could eventually get a bit of financial help from the state. According to the Associated Press, the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) yesterday voted unanimously to back a $5 million plan to help Road Home program recipients who have tainted Chinese drywall. The aid package still must be approved by the Louisiana legislature and federal authorities before it can begin.

The LRA was established in 2005 following hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and provided funds through the Road Home program to residents for rebuilding. Much of the rebuilding done with Road Home funding involved the use of Chinese drywall. (more…)

Less than 24 hours after being inoculated against the H1N1 Swine Flu, a young Virginia boy has come down with the dangerous, often debilitating Guillain-Barre syndrome, MSNBC is reporting.

Jordan McFarland (14), is wheelchair-bound and developed severe headaches, spasms, and leg weakness, said MSNBC, and is expected to need to use a walker for up to six weeks and will have to undergo “extensive physical therapy,” following his shot. Jordon is not the only case, and this is not the first time a swine flu vaccine has been associated with the serious disorder, noted MSNBC. In 1976, there were increased reports of Guillain-Barre connected to that year’s swine flu vaccine; to date, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has received five reports of the syndrome since October 6, reported MSNBC, in addition to Jordan’s. (more…)

Chinese drywall victims whose homes were built with wallboard manufactured by Knauf Plasterboard (Tianjin) Co., Ltd are just weeks away from a make-or-break deadline. They have until December 2, 2009 to join an omnibus class action lawsuit that will be filed against Knauf on December 9. Knauf has agreed to waive its rights under The Hague Convention for the Service of Process Abroad for homeowners who sign on to this lawsuit by the December 2 deadline.

The December 2 deadline is a hard deadline, and the omnibus complaint will not be amended at a later date to add more people. Claimants will also face a second deadline – December 14 – by which time they must have filled out a profile form. (more…)

Chinese drywall is not a covered peril under homeowners’ insurance polices, according to the Florida Insurance Commissioner. Speaking to state legislators, Kevin McCarty warned that insurers have no obligation to cover defective Chinese drywall.

The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) has received about 1,897 reports from residents in 30 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico concerning Chinese drywall. 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. (more…)

The industrial chemical, bisphenol A—BPA—has been making news in recent months over its connection to a wide variety of adverse health events, a worrisome issue given the chemical’s overwhelming ubiquity.

We have long noted that BPA has been connected to increased risks of brain, reproductive, cardiac, and immune system diseases and disorders; problems with liver function testing; interruptions in chemotherapy treatment; and links with serious health problems. Studies have overwhelmingly found BPA to have negative effects at doses lower than current FDA standards; retention in the body longer than was previously believed; leeching into liquids being held in containers regardless of the containers’ temperature; and longer lasting damage, which some feel can be passed to future generations. (more…)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is enforcing the flavored cigarette ban provision that is part of the newly-enacted Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Tobacco Control Act) by issuing several warning letters to companies that continue to sell illegal flavored cigarettes to consumers in the United States through Web sites.

The warning letters directed the companies to cease the marketing and sale of these products immediately or to take other appropriate action to bring the products into compliance with the law. Failure to do so may result in additional regulatory actions such as seizure or injunction. The FDA also requested a written response from each of the companies within 15 days outlining the corrective actions taken. (more…)

Last month we wrote that women who take antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) during pregnancy may be more likely to experience premature birth than other women. Science Daily is now reporting that the likelihood of premature child delivery triples in pregnant women with a history of depression and who take certain psychiatric drugs.

The prior study was published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and also found that babies born to women taking SSRIs were more likely to be admitted to an intensive care unit. Science Daily writes that researchers from the University of Washington, University of Michigan, and Michigan State University all found that the medication-depression combination, when present before or during pregnancy, was significantly associated to childbirth earlier than at 35 weeks’ gestation. (more…)

We recently wrote that some 31 million children are at increased risk for food poisoning due to delays in tainted food products being removed from school cafeterias.

Now, reports the Associated Press (AP), the House Education and Labor Committee chair is seeking a probe into the potential for the dangerous, sometimes deadly, E. coli pathogen to contaminate school lunches. In September, USA Today, citing a federal audit it obtained, wrote that federal agencies supplying food for schoolchildren are not ensuring swift removal of tainted food from cafeterias. These actions increase the risk of schoolchildren falling ill due to food borne contaminations, said USA Today, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), Congress’ investigative arm. (more…)

This year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandated Bayer—maker of the birth control pill, Yaz—to run a correction to its Yaz marketing that cost some $20-million. Bayer must also submit its ads to the agency for approval resulting from a legal settlement obtained by some state attorneys general and the agency.

Now, Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits originating in New Jersey might be deemed a mass tort. According to Law.com, a Passaic County request is being considered by the judiciary in that state for the mass tort status. (more…)

It seems thousands of United States homeowners claim that they are becoming sick as a result of defective Chinese drywall, claiming a “rotten egg” odor; headaches; nausea and vomiting; respiratory problems; and corrosion of metals in the home, including of jewelry, wiring, air conditioning units, and other appliances.

The Daily Herald points out that millions of gypsum sheets imported to the United States during the housing boom appear to have been contaminated with an array of sulfur compounds. The gypsum in drywall, which typically comes from mines, has recently come from a chemical process involving lime or limestone and gas from coal-fired power plants. Contaminants and sulfur found in power plant smokestacks are supposed to be removed in the process. Failure of proper removal is the cause of foul odors, respiratory complaints, and corrosion, according to some Chinese experts in building supplies. Others say phosphogypsum (calcium sulfate), a radioactive phosphorus substance, is to blame. Banned for use in U.S. construction in 1989, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says prolonged exposure to this radium-contained element can lead to a higher risk of lung cancer. (more…)