Posts Tagged ‘Centerline Homes’
Chinese drywall causes problems on the Treasure Coast
PORT ST. LUCIE — Martin and St. Lucie counties are two of nearly a dozen counties where complaints of possible exposure to the contaminated drywall in new homes have arisen.
The problem may have been sparked by drywall imported during the local construction boom of 2004 and 2005.
Some common symptoms are irritated eyes, coughing, sneezing, difficulty breathing, and symptoms similar to bronchitis and asthma.
The contaminated Chinese drywall may be emitting one of several sulfur compounds including sulfur dioxide or hydrogen sulfide. While exposure to fumes from sulfur dioxide can create irritation and breathing disorders, exposure to hydrogen sulfide can be deadly.
Exposure to 50 parts per million of hydrogen sulfide for more than ten minutes can cause extreme irritation. Inhalation of 500 to 1,000 parts per million can cause unconsciousness and death through respiratory paralysis and asphyxiation, according to environmental experts.
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Chinese Drywall Investigation in Florida
Defective drywall, believed to have been imported between 2005 and 2008 from Chinese manufacturers and used in the construction of tens-of-thousands of new homes in Florida, has many homeowners concerned about the effects the drywall may have on their health.
One of the components of the drywall is sulfur, and many experts believe that when combined with the high humidity levels, it emits a gas that smells like rotten eggs. In addition to the foul odors, air-conditioning related problems, and copper pipe corrosion has been reported, according to a recent report by MSNBC Fort Myers.
Both homeowners and home builders are the victims in this situation. It is currently unknown as to how many homes may have been constructed with the defective drywall, however the state attorney general has launched an investigation into the matter, at the request of the Florida Home Builders Association.
Jay Carlson, president of the Florida Home Builders Association, said, “any time homeowners start to question the safety of the products in their home, we have a serious problem that we need to address right away.”
Lennar and Taylor Morrison are two of the most notable home builders affected. Lennar filed a 105-page lawsuit earlier this month, and has worked with homeowners to have their defective drywall replaced with a suitable substitute.
Kristin Culliton, a Lakewood Ranch resident whose Taylor Morrison home was constructed with defective drywall manufactured by Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. Ltd., filed a class-action lawsuit against the firm. Knauf Plasterboard has reportedly shipped millions of pounds of drywall to Florida since 2006, according to a recent article by the Herald-Tribune.
In an analysis conducted by the Herald-Tribune, of Chinese drywall shipping records, the amount of drywall imported to the United States was potentially enough to construct over 60,000 homes.
Florida Senator Bill Nelson has requested that the U.S. Consumer and Product Safety Commission investigate the Chinese drywall. If determined hazardous, further sales of the product could be halted.
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Source: http://www.newhomessection.com/blog/chinese-drywall-investigation-in-florida/2009/02/26/
Senators Seek Interim Ban on Chinese Drywall
By MELANIE TROTTMAN
Two U.S. Senators have filed a bill seeking a recall and temporary ban of certain Chinese-made drywall, the latest effort to address problems with Chinese-made drywall believed to be emitting unpleasant, sulfurous odors and causing unusual air-conditioner problems in homes from Florida to Louisiana.
Sens. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and Mary Landrieu (D-La.) introduced the bill, which also asks the Consumer Product Safety Commission to conduct a study in conjunction with the National Institute for Standards and Technology and the Environmental Protection Agency. They want the study to include at least 10 samples of drywall that was imported from China during 2004 through 2007 and used in residential dwellings in the U.S. The study should include at least one sample of drywall from residences located in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Virginia, according to the bill’s text. The bill is called the Drywall Safety Act of 2009.
Reports of problem drywall first surfaced in January in Florida, where Home builder Lennar Corp. is suing two Chinese manufacturers of drywall, claiming the wallboard is defective and is causing electrical problems and emitting rotten odors in dozens of homes in the state.
This month, the legal battle over the imported construction material spread to Louisiana, where a couple in a suburb filed a lawsuit against certain drywall manufacturers, alleging the wallboard in their house is emitting a “rotten egg” smell, causing respiratory problems and corroding electrical equipment.
The CPSC said in February it had begun an investigation of complaints about Chinese drywall, focusing on whether the sulfur-based gases emitted from the drywall are corroding household wiring and posing a potential safety hazard. At the time, the agency said it could order a halt in further sales of certain drywall products if it determines there’s a safety hazard.
On Monday, a spokesman for the CPSC said the agency doesn’t comment on proposed legislation, but he confirmed the agency’s investigation is continuing. Last week, the CPSC sent four additional staffers to Florida from its compliance, toxicology and electrical engineering departments in Washington, D.C. Those specialists joined field investigators in assessing homes in Florida and returned with samples to test, the spokesman said. The agency is determining what toxicology tests and protocols are needed next.
The CPSC has no safety standards for drywall, a construction material commonly used to build interior walls, and the agency has said it isn’t aware of other federal standards for the product. The bill asks the agency to determine whether a consumer-product-safety standard regulating the composition of materials used in drywall is necessary to protect the health and safety of residential homeowners.
Last week, Florida’s health department said preliminary tests show there’s no “specific” health hazard associated with the sulfur-based gases coming from the drywall, but the agency is conducting additional tests. The test results released by the state health department last week did make one, definitive conclusion: Chinese-made drywall contained strontium sulfide, a material that is known to have the odor of hydrogen sulfide in moist air, which can cause a rotten-egg odor. The U.S.-made drywall did not contain this material.
If it’s up to Sens. Nelson and Landrieu, affected homeowners will receive some relief. The lawmakers are asking the secretaries of Treasury and Housing and Urban Development to provide mortgage relief and other assistance to affected homeowners, though they want the costs to be borne by makers of problematic materials and not U.S. taxpayers. Homeowners “are already suffering from depressed home values and negative economic conditions,” the lawmakers say in a resolution attached to the bill.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
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Chinese drywall: What to look for
Could you have Chinese drywall?
- Does your home have a strong smell (a sulfur or rotten egg-type smell)
- Do you have corroded copper coils in your air conditioner or are the coils black?
- Do you have KNAUF written on the back of your drywall? Go to your attic and look at the back side of the drywall for Knauf. This is the manufacturer’s ID, which identifies it as the drywall in question.
- Chinese drywall is thinner and lighter than typical drywall
Additional information:
- This specific drywall is made of waste from coal-fired plants. The material that wouldn’t burn was recylced into the drywall instead of being taken to a landfill.
- AMRC, an environmental engineering and testing company, says the problem is mainly in communities, not single family residences built on their own, like in Cape Coral or Lehigh Acres.
- The drywall was used in 2004 and 2005 because there was a high demand for building materials at the time and this was available and cost-effective.
- Don’t waste money on lab testing. If you went over the checklist above and suspect you have Chinese drywall, call an environmental testing company to come out and verify it. It can be verified for legal purposes without lab tests.
- Health effects are unknown, there is not enough data on the actual chemical compounds to make a determination.
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Chinese drywall may be sulfur source
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 23, 2009
Residents in suburban Delray Beach’s upscale Vizcaya development are the latest to complain of problems stemming from Chinese drywall in their homes.
Citing air-conditioning coils that turn black and fail, tarnished jewelry and strange odors, a small group met with attorneys on Friday to discuss options
Chinese-made drywall is suspected as the cause of sulfuric gases corroding wires, pipes and home fixtures, all the while throwing off a bad smell.
On Monday, the Florida Department of Health, which is tracking Chinese drywall complaints statewide, released preliminary study findings confirming that Chinese drywall exposed to heat and moisture generates a sulfuric odor.
Conducted for the state by an Illinois firm, the study tested one sample of U.S.-made drywall, two samples marked as being from China, and one unmarked piece that had characteristics similar to the Chinese-made products.
The latter three samples registered higher levels of organic material and sulfuric compounds – particularly strontium sulfide – than the U.S. plasterboard. “There is a distinct difference in drywall that was manufactured in the United States and those that were manufactured in China,” the report concluded. In an especially troubling finding for Floridians, the study also found that, “It is clear that exposure to moisture accelerates the release of volatiles from the drywall.”
More testing is needed to determine whether the organic material and sulfur is the cause of the odors and corroded metals.
During a conference call Monday to discuss the findings, state toxicologist David Krause said that this study is only the first of many planned to determine what components are in the product, at what level, and whether they pose a health problem.
He said this first preliminary study does not show any “specific” health hazards because it only sought to determine what chemicals are in the drywall.
“It’s not that we are saying it’s safe,” Krause said during the conference call.
The next phase of testing will be to determine the rate of emission of the sulfuric gas to help calculate its indoor air concentration and whether it could exceed set safety standards.
Krause noted that the Florida Department of Health has been in contact with state departments of health in Louisiana, Alabama, North Carolina and Washington regarding reports from builders and homeowners of high sulfur drywall being found in homes in those areas.
At least two class-action lawsuits have been filed regarding Chinese drywall in homes outside of Florida – one in Louisiana and one in Alabama.
In Florida, the state Department of Health is tracking more than 150 complaints of Chinese drywall, roughly 30 in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast.
Coral Springs-based Centerline Homes, which built Vizcaya in 2001 and whose Promenade development in Port St. Lucie’s Tradition community was also recently found to have Chinese drywall, did not return repeated calls for comment.
Vizcaya resident Deborah Semrau says she hates days when she comes home and finds water on the floor.
“We’ve replaced 10 or 11 times the coil for the air conditioner,” she said. “But then I still come home and open the door to a warm house and water from the A/C on the floor.”
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Source: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/business/epaper/2009/03/23/a6b_drywallvizcaya_0324.html
Chinese drywall found in Port St. Lucie’s Tradition community
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
PORT ST. LUCIE — Only a few months ago, the term “Chinese drywall” was unknown to Michael Vega, who rents a condo in Port St. Lucie’s Tradition community with his wife.
He knew only that something was corroding wires and metal components in the house and emitting an odor that gave his wife headaches and congestion.
Since builder Centerline Homes brought in an independent analyst to test plasterboard, “Chinese drywall” has become a phrase that consumes Vega’s time and causes him to lose sleep at night.
Chinese-made drywall is suspected as the cause of sulfuric gases corroding wires, pipes and even air-conditioning components throughout Florida and across the country, all the while throwing off a sulfur-like smell.
Once thought to be contained to Southwest Florida, problems with Chinese-manufactured drywall were recently reported in Palm Beach County and along the Treasure Coast.
While Coral Springs-based Centerline Homes has declined comment, Vega said the company’s tests found the drywall in his condo was indeed plasterboard from China.
“Who knows what this drywall could be doing to us?” Vega asked. “If it affects metal, what can it do to flesh?”
Vega is not the only one in Tradition’s Promenade condo development who may have Chinese-made drywall in his home.
According to Promenade property manager Bert Kelly, some owners and renters in the 135-unit complex have complained about unusual and unpleasant odors and air-conditioning units that were not working. Centerline tested an unknown number of the houses for Chinese-manufactured drywall, he said.
Initially, experts dated the problem to 2006, when rebuilds from hurricane damage and a growing housing boom created a shortage of American-made plasterboard. That since has been revised to include houses that had drywall added between 2004 and early 2007.
Chinese drywall manufacturer Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. said it began receiving complaints in 2006. The company said it traced the odor to a gypsum mine and ceased using the mine that year.
Late last year, new tenants at a Promenade condo owned by Boca Raton resident Allison Grant began complaining of a terrible smell, causing her and her husband to investigate. They found tarnish on metal faucets, drains and shower heads.
“I had to act like a sleuth for myself so we could learn what the problem was,” Grant said.
She has found definitive proof that her home’s drywall was manufactured in China, she said.
The Florida Department of Health has documented 119 complaints about Chinese-made drywall in Florida. Of those, 17 were in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast, including five homes on a single street in Stuart.
Preliminary studies have not concluded that the drywall creates immediate health concerns. Homeowners, however, have blamed it for allergy-like symptoms, including headaches, dry eyes, tightness in the chest and bloody noses.
The department is testing drywall to rule out health risks.
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Source: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/health/epaper/2009/03/04/a4b_drywall_0305_copy.html