"Chinese drywall poses potential risks; Chinese drywall imported during housing boom causes corrosion, possible health risk" by Brian Skoloff and Cain Burdeau, Associated Press | April 12, 2009
At the height of the U.S. housing boom, when building materials were in short supply, American construction companies used millions of pounds of Chinese-made drywall because it was abundant and cheap.
Now that decision is haunting hundreds of homeowners and apartment dwellers who are concerned that the wallboard gives off fumes that can corrode copper pipes, blacken jewelry and silverware, and possibly sicken people.
Shipping records reviewed by The Associated Press indicate that imports of potentially tainted Chinese building materials exceeded 500 million pounds during a four-year period of soaring home prices. The drywall may have been used in more than 100,000 homes, according to some estimates, including houses rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina.
"This is a traumatic problem of extraordinary proportions," said U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, a Florida Democrat who introduced a bill in the House calling for a temporary ban on the Chinese-made imports until more is known about their chemical makeup. Similar legislation has been proposed in the Senate.
The drywall apparently causes a chemical reaction that gives off a rotten-egg stench, which grows worse with heat and humidity. Researchers do not know yet what causes the reaction, but possible culprits include fumigants sprayed on the drywall and material inside it. The Chinese drywall is also made with a coal byproduct called fly ash that is less refined than the form used by U.S. drywall makers.
Dozens of homeowners in the Southeast have sued builders, suppliers and manufacturers, claiming the very walls around them are emitting smelly sulfur compounds that are poisoning their families and rendering their homes uninhabitable.
Well, if they can't foreclose on you they will get you out another way!!!!
"It's like your hopes and dreams are just gone," said Mary Ann Schultheis, who has suffered burning eyes, sinus headaches, and a general heaviness in her chest since moving into her brand-new, 4,000-square foot house in this tidy South Florida suburb a few years ago.
She has few options. Her builder is in bankruptcy, the government is not helping and her lender will not give her a break. "I'm just going to cry," she said. "We don't know what we're going to do."
.....
Companies that produced some of the wallboard said they are looking into the complaints, but downplayed the possibility of health risks.
That's what GOVERNMENT and BUSINESS ALWAYS DO because THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU, Americans!!! How much more evidence do you need?
So far, the problem appears to be concentrated in the Southeast, which blossomed with new construction during the housing boom and where the damp climate appears to cause the gypsum in the building material to degrade more quickly....
Many of the affected homeowners rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina only to face the prospect of tearing down their houses and rebuilding again. In another cruel twist, some of the very communities that have been hit hardest by the collapse of the housing market and skyrocketing foreclosure rates are now at the epicenter of the drywall problem....
The drywall furor is the latest in a series of scares over potentially toxic imports from China. In 2007, Chinese authorities ratcheted up inspections and tightened restrictions on exports after manufacturers were found to have exported tainted cough syrup, a toxic pet food ingredient and toys decorated with lead paint....
Globalism is grand, ain't it (cough, cough; stinks in here)!!!!!!
Prolonged exposure to the compounds, especially high levels of carbon disulfide, can cause breathing problems, chest pains and even death; and can affect the nervous system, according to the CDC....
Those who are living with it are convinced that something is making them sick, including dozens of homeowners in a single subdivision in Parkland, about 50 miles north of Miami. They are now faced with a daunting choice: Tear down and rebuild, or move out and be stuck with a mortgage and a home they cannot sell....
"We are particularly concerned about the safety and well-being of our children," said Holly Krulik, who lives down the street from Mary Ann Schultheis. She and her husband, Doug, are suffering sinus problems and respiratory ailments, and their young daughter has repeated nose bleeds.
Why does Erin Brockovich come to mind, readers?
"If a shiny copper coil can turn absolutely black within a matter of months, it certainly can't be good for human beings," Krulik said.
Neighbor John Willis is moving out, even though he can hardly afford to walk away from a house he's owned for just three years. He cries as he speaks of his 3-year-old son's respiratory infection, which eventually required surgery.
"They basically took out a substance that looked like rubber cement out of my 3-year-old son's sinuses," he said. "My wife and I are now faced with the choice between our children's health and our financial health. My children are always going to win on that."
....
The federal government does not regulate the chemical ingredients of imported drywall....
Oh, I see. They gotta regulate fart mist because of global warming, but when it comes to pollutants in your home, they don't give a f***!!!!!
Determining what is causing the problems could take months....
Or years, or never.
Ask the vets suffering from Agent Orange, Depleted Uranium, or Sodium Dichromate poisoning.
Meanwhile, the Globe is too busy telling us how great things are in the real estate market:
"While real estate brokers said it is too early to know whether the market is rebounding, there are indications that qualified buyers are finally deciding to get off the sidelines."
This from the same people who hid a recession for 10 months!!!
You'll pardon me if I don't believe this round of Boston Globe bullshit.
"New to the market; Low mortgage rates, falling prices, and a tax credit are luring first-time buyers into homes they can afford" by Jenifer B. McKim, Globe Staff | April 9, 2009
John Ranco, of Gibson Sotheby's International Realty in Boston, said the extraordinary incentives to buy provide reason for optimism....
Despite the incentives, not all qualified buyers are convinced it's time to commit to a mortgage. Some have questions about job security, the economy, and whether prices will fall even more.
PFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTT!!!!!
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Better check the walls, too, home-buyer!!!
