More results of Chinese drywall testing conducted as part of the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission’s (CPSC) massive investigation are expected to be released next week. The highly anticipated report will arrive just days before an important lawsuit deadline arrives for some Chinese drywall homeowners.

The next round of test results will address the corrosion of copper wires and other metals in homes with Chinese drywall – whether this is being caused by fumes from the wallboard, and whether the corrosion of wiring poses a fire hazard. The CPSC is also expected to release results of tests done on indoor-air samples collected from about 50 U.S. homes with Chinese drywall. (more…)

A Chinese drywall bill just introduced in the U.S. Congress would prohibit insurers from dropping or changing policies on homes built with tainted Chinese drywall. According to The Bradenton Herald, the Chinese drywall insurance bill is being sponsored by Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-La.

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 Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is stating that most of the coal ash “deemed critical” following last year’s historic spill, has been cleaned up, said WDEF. The authority said some two-thirds of the “critical” spill has been cleaned out of the Emory River

The catastrophic fly ash spill took place last December and released an unimaginable 5.4 million cubic yards of toxic coal sludge, dumping toxins into Tennessee’s Emory and Clinch rivers and the 300 acres surrounding the TVA’s Kingston plant. An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report states that some “potentially toxic pollutants,” such as mercury and arsenic, found in coal ash, could present serious problems. (more…)

Phthalates, chemicals that enable flexibility in plastics and vinyls, are again, being linked to adverse health outcomes, this time in boys. According to WebMD, women exposed to high phthalate levels during pregnancy may give birth to boys who express behaviors that are less typically masculine.

For instance, said WebMD, boys born by women who were exposed to high phthalate levels, tend to play less with “trucks and other male-typical toys or to play fight,” citing an emerging study. Phthalates are known in testing to cause reproductive disturbances such as decreased sperm count, infertility, and reproductive tract malformations. (more…)

Communities around the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Westchester, NY have higher-than-normal rates of thyroid cancer, according to a study released Monday. The study found that rates of thyroid cancer in the four counties surrounding the Indian Point nuclear plant – Orange, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester – were the highest in New York state, and among the highest in the United States.

The Indian Point nuclear power plant is located just north of New York City. The two nuclear reactors there went online in1973 and 1976. The plant, originally run by Consolidated Edison, is now owned and operated by Louisiana-based Entergy, a $13 billion company which runs nuclear plants in four other states. Entergy is awaiting renewal of the licenses for Indian Point’s two reactors, one of which expires in 2013 and the other in 2015. (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…)

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…)

Light cigarettes are not all they’re cracked up to be when it comes to quitting smoking, according to an emerging study, says WebMD. Experts found that the switch to what Web MD described as “light,” “ultra-light,” or “low-tar” cigarettes could actually undermine well-intentioned smoking cessation attempts.

Most cigarettes—about 84 percent, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)—are labeled as lower in tar and nicotine, reported WebMD. (more…)