The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Insurance held a hearing on May 21 on health and product safety issues related to imported drywall such as Chinese drywall.
Drywall manufactured in China and imported to the United States since 2001 has become the subject of growing numbers of complaints and lawsuits in as many as 12 states over health concerns and property damage resulting from the off-gassing of chemical compounds contained in the drywall.
Chinese drywall was imported in large volumes during the building market boom and then amidst rebuilding efforts following devastating hurricanes in 2005 in the Gulf States. Chinese dry wall has been installed in homes and properties in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Arizona, California, Nevada, Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut, Alabama and Washington. Several states have imported at least one million pounds of tainted drywall since January 2006. Even Washington State has brought in over 2 million pounds of drywall from China.
The tainted drywall has been alleged to emit a rotten egg-like odor, corrode metal components such as air conditioning coils and similar surfaces and cause respiratory problems, rashes, nose bleeds and headaches.
Drywall Safety Act
On March 30th, legislation was introduced in the Senate to call on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology laboratories to determine the hazardous exposure level of chemicals in the imported drywall. The Drywall Safety Act of 2009, S. 739, seeks to impose an immediate ban on imported Chinese drywall in the meantime.
The Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Insurance subsequently held a hearing to determine what state and federal agencies are doing to help residents with the potentially devastating economic and health effects of tainted drywall. The subcommittee heard testimony from Lori Saltzman, toxicologist and Director of the Office of Health Sciences at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission; Dr. Michael McGeehin, Director of the National Center for Environmental Health at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Elizabeth Southerland, Acting Deputy Director of the Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation at the EPA; Dr. David Krause, toxicologist for the Florida Department of Health; Richard J. Kampf, Florida homeowner; and Randy Noel, president of Reve, Inc., a builder from the New Orleans area, former president of the Louisiana Home Builders Association, and a current National Life Director of the National Association of Home Builders Board of Directors.
The Consumer Protection Safety Commission is investigating the origins of the tainted drywall and its connections to health effects and damaged wiring and other property.
EPA Recent Findings
The EPA recently reported that it found sulfur and two organic compounds associated with acrylic paint in Chinese drywall in two Florida homes it tested, upholding concerns that gasses emitted from the drywall are hazardous. The EPA said these compounds are not detectable in samples of domestic drywall and that it found higher levels of strontium in the Chinese drywall.
For information for homeowners, renters, contractors and builders, Americas Watchdog has set up a Chinese Drywall Complaint Center. A U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation has already been set up to preside over lawsuits and class action concerning Chinese drywall.
If you are a builder, contractor or supplier in need of information about how to mitigate damages and take steps, a legal guide is available at Avvo.com.
