Press Releases

Appraiser agrees with owners: Drywall house worth $0

Tbo.com

After their own investigation Hillsborough County Property Appraiser says a 2 million dollar Davis Island mansion isn't worth a dime because of Chinese drywall. (more) By SHANNON BEHNKEN | The Tampa Tribune Billy and Stacy Peek say toxic Chinese ...
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Chinese Drywall Complaint Center Now Calls President Obama's Response To The ...

PR Web (press release)

The Chinese Drywall Complaint Center has been characterizing the Obama Administration's response to the toxic Chinese drywall disaster in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and Virginia as a pathetic joke, for nearly three years....
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Chinese drywall - MDL court gives preliminary approval to knauf
uncapped ...

Lexology (registration)

On Tuesday, January 10, 2012, Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Company ("Knauf") gained preliminary approval from United States District Court Judge Eldon Fallon for the creation of an uncapped repair fund to settle thousands of Chinese Drywall claims across ...
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Chinese Drywall Settlement Could Reach $1 Billion

ABC News

It took nearly three years for the parties to reach an agreement. Another Chinese Drywall manufacturer, Taishan Gypsum, has not reached any sort of agreement with American homeowners. Homeowners covered by the settlement will be able to choose whether ...
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APNewsBreak: Judge OKs Chinese drywall deal

The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A deal is almost final that would make a Chinese Drywall manufacturer pay hundreds of millions of dollars to resolve court claims by ...

Chinese drywall manufacturer may announce settlement with ...

NOLA.com

Chris Granger/The Times-Picayune - Problem Chinese drywall corrodes metal components in homes and many people say it's making them sick with respiratory and ...

Chinese Drywall Maker Knauf Plasterboard Agrees to $800 Million Settlement

Bloomberg

By Jef Feeley and Allen Johnson Jr. - Thu Dec 15 15:38:46 GMT 2011 Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co., a Chinese drywall maker, agreed to pay at least $800 million to settle homeowner claims that faulty building materials contaminated their homes with ...

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Chinese Drywall Maker Knauf Plasterboard Agrees to ... - Bloomberg

Chinese Drywall Maker Knauf Plasterboard Agrees to $800 Million Settlement.

mobile.bloomberg.com/.../chinese-drywall-maker-knauf-plaste...

BREAKING NEWS FROM THE COURTROOM–KNAUF SETTLES ...

Moments ago during this month's status conference, the PSC announced it had reached an agreement on the terms of a global resolution with Knauf. ...

www.bkc-law.com/.../breaking-news-from-the-courtroom-kna..

Chinese Drywall Maker to Pay Homeowners to Settle Suits

BusinessWeek

15 (Bloomberg) - Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co., a Chinese drywall maker, agreed to pay at least $800 million to settle homeowner claims that faulty building materials contaminated their homes with corrosive sulfur fumes, plaintiffs' lawyers said. ...

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Chinese drywall victims' lawsuit settled for up to $1 billion

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Checking for Chinese drywall in a home in Alva, near Fort Myers, left it in shambles. Lawyers representing thousands of homeowners dealing with Chinese drywall say they have reached an $800 million to $1 billion settlement with a German-based company ...

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UPI NewsTrack Business

UPI.com

15 (UPI) - A Chinese drywall manufacturer and lawyers for US homeowners who sued because of odor and contamination reached a settlement to replace the gypsum wallboard. The settlement reached by Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin and a class action steering ...

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Working mothers could have less depression and better health

WWL First News

A Chinese drywall manufacturer has agreed to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to resolve court claims by thousands of Gulf Coast property owners who say the product corroded pipes and wires and otherwise wrecked their homes, the largest settlement ...

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Family: Chinese drywall in home made daughters' toenails fall off

Tbo.com

Patrick Bradshaw, Dekle's neighbor, points out Chinese drywall in his family's home, where he says the toenails of his two young daughters fell off this summer. By SHANNON BEHNKEN | The Tampa Tribune When the toenails of Patrick and Ilknur Bradshaw's ...

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Settlement between Chinese drywall maker, builders covers fixes for hundreds ...

Washington Post

NEW ORLEANS - A settlement outlined Wednesday between a major manufacturer of Chinese-made drywall and homebuilders who used the tainted product in Florida, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi could affect anywhere from 800 to 1500 homes, attorneys said. ...

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Chinese drywall manufacturer in court

WAVY-TV

(WAVY) - The battle over Chinese drywall played out in a Norfolk court Thursday. Several lawsuits across the country allege the imported drywall puts out a ...

Homeowners gain traction in Chinese-drywall fight

The Virginian-Pilot

By Josh Brown A Circuit Court judge on Wednesday entered a default judgment against the Chinese manufacturer that produced the tainted drywall that emits ...

Chinese drywall firm implicated by default

UPI.com

The lawsuit in Virginia Beach filed by Ben and Holly Proto named, among other companies, Venture Supply Inc., the importer of the Chinese drywall ...

Fort Myers resident testifies on bad drywall

Lehigh Acres News Star

Unlike the common complaint about Chinese Drywall, we had National Gypsum ... We had no Chinese drywall in our home yet our American drywall was causing the ...

Fort Myers resident to testify on bad drywall

The News-Press

There have been some victories in the drywall fight. On Oct. 14, 2010, Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin, a major manufacturer of Chinese wallboard owned by the ...

Many Hampton Roads families financially ruined by Chinese drywall ...

Insurance News Net

Oct. 10 -- Eric Bailey became so frustrated when moving out of his Chinese drywall-contaminated home in Denbigh this spring, he took out a Sharpie pen and ...

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Housing Stock and Housing Stocks

GuruFocus.com

... overshadowed by the legal costs and damages stemming from issues like Chinese drywall...

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View our Resources

Solutions Waning for Tenants of Substandard Housing

KBPS

Under the 2001 Toxic Mold Protection Act, the California Department of Public Health has been working to determine the level at which mold becomes dangerous ...

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Chinese drywall nightmare finally over for coast family

WLOX

By Doug Walker - bio | email After more than four years, the Taylor family of Jackson County is back home, and their Chinese drywall nightmare is finally over. "We live in a hour we can finally be proud of now," Jason Taylor said. ...

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The Toxic Chinese Drywall Controversy

Fog City Journal

Many homeowners rebuilt their homes after Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, and Hurricane Rita in September 2005 using Chinese drywall. This drywall made occupants sick, corroded metal fixtures, and rendered homes unfit to live in. ...

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Judge OKs Pact In Chinese Drywall Coverage Suit

Law360

... liability for costs stemming from a Lennar suit alleging the subcontractors installed faulty Chinese drywall in its Florida real estate developments. ...

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Friends' house dreams turn into costly nightmare

Tampabay.com

The women no longer trusted the developer and later found out that some of the finished homes in Bristol Pines had tainted Chinese drywall.

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Just wanted to make sure you saw this great piece from Sarasota Herald and ProPublica that explains some of the CPSC’s issues getting any answers on the Chinese drywall.

CPSC Completes Final Studies to Help Affected Homeowners Remediate Problem Drywall

Sacramento Bee

A prior LBNL study found considerably higher hydrogen sulfide emission rates from some, but not all, Chinese drywall samples compared to North American samples. The current LBNL study found that increases in temperature and humidity corresponded with ...

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Hundreds in Fla. want out of Chinese drywall deal

MiamiHerald.com

By CURT ANDERSON AP Legal Affairs Writer MIAMI -- Hundreds of Floridians may want to opt out of a proposed $55 million federal settlement over faulty Chinese drywall in hopes of pursuing individual lawsuits in state courts, the attorney for two. ...
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Chinese drywall inspected in Birmingham, Ala. area

The Birmingham News

Birmingham-area homeowners who trace property damage and health problems to tainted Chinese drywall may be moving closer to a resolution of their claims.

Chinese Drywall Found Inside Gulf Shores Home

WKRG

A Gulf Shores homeowner has hired an attorney to sue a manufacturer she says installed toxic "Chinese drywall" inside her dream-home. ...

Gulf Shores couple hopes Chinese drywall nightmare near an end

Guy Busby Press-Register

After 5 years, 4 destroyed air-conditioning systems, 3 hospital-grade air filters and a lot of health concerns, Nancy Pampel said Friday that she hoped her worries were nearing an end. ...

Chinese drywall nightmare finally over for coast family

WLOX

After more than four years, the Taylor family of Jackson County is back home, and their Chinese drywall nightmare is finally over. "We live in a hour we can finally be proud of now," Jason Taylor said. ...
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Judge orders drywall supplier to disclose insurance, assets

MiamiHerald.com

Miami-based Banner Supply Co., which sold tainted Chinese drywall to Florida homebuilders, will have to reveal the details of its insurance coverage, ...
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Chinese drywall settlement questioned

Bizjournals.com

Two Miami homeowners who were victims of contaminated Chinese drywall announced in a news conference Friday they are opting out of a global settlement with Miami-based supplier Banner Supply Co. Charles and Sandra Puckett said they would rather have ...
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Builder rescinds promise to replace Chinese drywall in home

Tbo.com

The home contains Chinese drywall . By SHANNON BEHNKEN | The Tampa Tribune The advertising for new town homes at Sabal Pointe in Tampa is enticing: "No Surprises." "No costly out-of-pocket repairs or replacement." But Jamie Driskell, 27, ran into both ...
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Banner Supply sues parent company of Chinese drywall manufacturer

The News-Press

6:18 am Banner Supply Co. has filed a federal lawsuit seeking more than $100 million against Knauf Gips, the German parent company of Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin, a major manufacturer of defective Chinese drywall . Banner, based in Miami but with several ...
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Fla. supply firm sues German company over drywall

Newsday (subscription)

Click here Fla. supply firm sues German company over drywall Published: July 15, 2011 3:44 PM By The Associated Press (AP) -- A Florida building supply company is suing a German conglomerate for $100 million over defective Chinese drywall installed in ...
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Stachybotrys chartarum, just one of many Types of Fungi that Cause Mold Contamination Issues

WebWire

The media has frequently referred to Stachybotrys chartarum as “toxic mold”. The term "toxic mold", used by many in media reports is often not accurate, ...

Settlement for 1 drywall case progresses

MiamiHerald.com

AP NEW ORLEANS -- A proposed $55 million settlement of claims against a Miami-based supplier of tainted Chinese drywall has been granted preliminary approval by a federal judge in New Orleans, but it is far from a done deal. ...
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Judge gives preliminary approval to defective drywall settlement

The News-Press

A federal judge today gave preliminary approval to a $55 million settlement between Banner Supply and thousands of homeowners the company supplied with defective Chinese drywall, including many in Southwest Florida. Meanwhile, two attorneys who ...
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Unheard pleas of Chinese drywall victims

Shelby County Reporter

They're drastically downsizing because of their dream home's single fatal flaw: Chinese drywall. As the Howards are the second owners of the house built in ...Read more

China Plays Tug-of-War With U.S. Inspectors Over Drywall

by Joaquin Sapien, ProPublica, and Aaron Kessler, Sarasota Herald-Tribune Oct. 25, 2010, 3:02 p.m.

A federal investigation into contaminated Chinese-made drywall has been a long, hard tug-of-war for U.S. investigators trying to pry information from Chinese government officials and manufacturers. When a team of investigators traveled to China last year, the tug-of-war became physical, with a Chinese official trying to wrest a piece of drywall from an American’s hands.

The federal probe is the largest defective-product investigation[1] ever conducted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. But almost two years after it began, the CPSC still hasn’t been able to figure out what materials in the Chinese drywall are triggering the release of sulfur gases. The gases have a chemical smell and have corroded wiring and appliances in thousands of U.S. homes. They’ve also been linked to respiratory ailments, nosebleeds and sinus problems.

Do You Have Tainted Drywall?

Are you dealing with tainted drywall? Is it causing health problems, or damage to your home? If so, we at ProPublica want to hear your story

The best chance for solving the mystery came last year, when a team of CPSC investigators traveled to China to inspect drywall-manufacturing plants and gypsum mines. But the trip did not go as planned, according to CPSC officials, including an inspector who was part of the group and who spoke with ProPublica and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Chinese government officials interfered with their investigation by rushing the Americans through inspection sites, blocking their attempts to ask questions and take samples and engaging in a coordinated campaign to intimidate them, the CPSC officials said. At one point, a crowd of employees was ordered to block the entrance to a gypsum mine and encircle the Americans.

“We were surrounded,” the inspector said. “There were five of us and 50 of them.” The CPSC officials interviewed for this story, including the inspector, spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation.

Most of the manufacturing companies the Americans visited refused to disclose even the most basic information about the chemicals they put into their drywall or the manufacturing processes they use. Despite these limitations, the Americans noticed serious quality-control problems at all the plants and mines they visited. The inspectors were so desperate to get samples that they slipped away from their government handlers twice to buy drywall directly from vendors. The vendors said at least one brand of drywall being sold in China smells so bad that contractors refuse to buy it.

China’s failure to cooperate with the CPSC on drywall demonstrates how little recourse U.S. consumers have when they buy defective products imported from abroad, public interest advocates and international trade experts say. Nearly 20 percent of all U.S. imports come from China, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics[2]. Only Canada sells more goods to the United States.

“It shows that an agency like the CPSC has no leverage to get a foreign government to cooperate if that government doesn’t want to,” said Pamela Gilbert, who was the CPSC’s executive director in the Clinton administration and is now a partner at Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca. “I believe that’s true with all the regulatory agencies that have had trouble with Chinese products.”

Gilbert pointed to a range of defective products that China has exported in recent years, including pet food, toothpaste, pharmaceuticals and children’s toys. The problem won’t be resolved, she said, until “the highest levels of the U.S. government, like the State Department, get involved.” CPSC officials close to the drywall investigation told ProPublica and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune that they’ve asked the State Department and the White House for help in dealing with the Chinese, but they wouldn’t provide details about the discussions.

This week, a CPSC delegation led by Chairwoman Inez Tenenbaum is in Beijing for trade talks with China. Tenenbaum is expected to discuss the drywall investigation, along with other product safety issues.

***

The CPSC officials who spoke with ProPublica and the Herald-Tribune about the 2009 trip to China said their government hosts were cordial when they arrived but that the relationship quickly became tense.

The Americans shared a bus with officials from China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, known as AQSIQ, which employs more than 30,000 people throughout the country. More officials followed in black sedans, with a new group switching in each time they passed into a new province.

“It was very carefully choreographed,” one of the U.S. officials said. “We spent a lot of time with party officials and not as much time in the plants as we wanted to do.”

The Americans had spent months preparing for their trip. They visited U.S. sites where gypsum, a white sedimentary rock used to make drywall, is mined. They studied how another form of gypsum—known as flue gas desulfurization gypsum or FGD gypsum—is produced from ash created by coal-fired power plants. They also visited drywall-manufacturing plants where they were told which chemicals went into the final product.

The CPSC officials said they couldn’t name the U.S. or Chinese sites.

The team’s first stop in China was a plant in the city of Linyi in Shandong province. Both Taishan Gypsum Co. and Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin, the two companies accused of manufacturing most of the defective drywall exported to the United States, have said the gypsum they used may have come from mines in Shandong province. Taishan’s manufacturing plant is also located in Shandong.

Although the plant managers were polite, they wouldn’t reveal the chemical additives they used or explain how they monitor the quality of their product. What the team saw wasn’t encouraging.

“Gauges weren’t labeled, the plant was very dirty and it was clear that there were very few process controls,” the CPSC inspector said. Without proper gauges, workers couldn’t monitor the quality of the material as it made its way down the line.

The team also didn’t see any documentation for the raw gypsum that was arriving from a nearby mine. In the United States, the CPSC official said, gypsum is labeled with a truck number, load number and other information that identifies its origin and consistency. “They didn’t have any of that,” the official said.

When the U.S. team started taking photographs inside the plant, their government handlers began getting nervous. When they asked for a sample of the finished product, they were offered a precut piece of drywall that had been laminated in plastic. Eventually the plant manager gave them what they wanted—a sample right off the assembly line—but a government official grabbed it from the CPSC inspector’s hands.

“Then we snatched it back. Eventually, we won the tug-of-war,” the CPSC inspector said. The Chinese officials were infuriated.

“The handlers all began talking real loud on their cell phones. They were obviously upset and told our translator that they were angry that we took photos and samples at the plant. We were told that there would be no samples and no photos at the next stop.”

***

When they stepped off the bus at the next stop, a gypsum mine, about 50 employees blocked some of the mine entrances and began taking pictures of the Americans. “The clear aim was to intimidate us,” the CPSC inspector said.

The Americans had hoped to gather samples and learn how the miners avoided deposits of sulfur or other minerals that some scientists suspect may be causing the drywall problem. “But they refused to answer any of our questions,” the CPSC inspector added. “They wouldn’t let us grab a sample.”

The visit was supposed to last several hours, but it was over in less than 30 minutes. CPSC officials said they phoned the U.S. Embassy in Beijing from the bus and reported that the Chinese officials were interfering with the investigation, but the CPSC wouldn’t tell ProPublica and the Herald-Tribune how the embassy responded.

As the bus approached a second mine in Shandong province, overpowering smells of sulfur and then livestock seeped inside. They were told the odor was from a nearby hog farm, but there was no farm in sight.

At the mouth of the mine the inspectors were shocked to see miners separating pieces of rock by hand—a process CPSC officials said is unheard-of in the United States and that the inspector described as “ludicrous.” Modern mines have tools and testing equipment on site to ensure that the rock they’re extracting is gypsum and that it is pure enough to be used in products such as drywall.

“They weren’t doing any kind of testing, they were just looking at it,” the CPSC inspector said. “They looked like they were straying” into areas of the formation that could contain sulfur or other contaminants “and then just trying to sort out the bad stuff by hand as it came out.”

Asked why the company wasn’t testing for contaminants, a company representative told the team the mine was fulfilling its contract with its customers and there was no government requirement to do so.

The team tried to get a sample of the rock.

“When I tried to go over and take a sample out of a huge pile of rocks, I was told it was too dangerous because of the machinery nearby,” the CPSC inspector said. “But there was no equipment anywhere near it.”

Instead, the inspectors were handed a piece of rock that looked “nothing like what was piled up on the ground.”

“It looked like a showpiece that you would put on your desk,” the inspector said.

The U.S. Geological Service later confirmed that the rock was gypsum, but there was no way of knowing if it came from the mine the Americans had visited.

The CPSC “suspected this mine as having problems,” the inspector said. “I was well-briefed before I left. We had a list of questions. None of them were answered.”

***

The second plant the group toured made its drywall from FGD gypsum. Using this form of gypsum in drywall is increasingly popular in the United States as well as in China because it’s cheap and plentiful. FGD gypsum is so similar in chemical composition to naturally mined gypsum that manufacturers say it’s difficult to tell whether drywall has been made from one source or the other.

Again, the Chinese officials tried to rush the Americans through the plant. “They wanted us in and out of that plant in 10 minutes,” the CPSC inspector said. “But we just took our time, which made them really upset.”

The Americans weren’t allowed to take a sample of the drywall, but they got a sample of the FGD gypsum the company was using. But only one of their questions was answered: How did the plant keep track of where the coal ash came from?

The question was an important one because without proper documentation it’s impossible to track drywall made with tainted gypsum back to its source. In the United States, deliveries of mined gypsum or FGD gypsum come with a certificate that is supposed to specify critical details such as water and sulfur content, CPSC officials said.

The answer surprised the U.S. team. The FGD gypsum came from five different power plants, and when it arrived it was dumped together in a big pile.

“I asked if there is some kind of conformity certificate that says where all the material is coming from. They said no,” the CPSC official said.

Back to Beijing

The last plant on the CPSC trip used both FGD and naturally mined gypsum. It was located southeast of Beijing, in the city of Tianjin. Tianjin is home to a plant owned by German-based Knauf Group, whose Chinese subsidiary, Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin, is one of the main players in the U.S. drywall crisis.

The managers at the Tianjin plant seemed more eager to cooperate with the U.S. team, and they shared the full list of chemicals used in their product. The facility was also more modern than the other plants they had visited. “If I were to build a plant, this one had a lot of what I’d like to have in it,” the CPSC inspector said.

But the inspector also found a problem. “Despite all of this good stuff, all of its raw materials were co-mingled and dumped,” he said. “So there was not much in the way of keeping track” of where the gypsum came from.

Dan Harris, an attorney with Seattle-based Harris & Moore, which represents clients in both the United States and China, said he wasn’t surprised about the lack of documentation in China’s drywall industry.

“There are a lot of industries where the Chinese don’t track goods terribly well,” Harris said. “Until there is a reason to keep better records, they aren’t going to do it. Perhaps this will be the reason.”

“Quite a Spectacle”

As their trip drew to a close, the CPSC delegation returned to Beijing for a final set of meetings with Chinese officials—and to make a last-ditch effort to collect more samples. That night three of them slipped out and took a taxi to a Beijing street market, where they’d been told drywall was sold. They bought as many kinds of drywall as they could find, cutting small samples from each piece and cramming them into their backpacks.

“The vendors were kind of shocked,” the CPSC official said. “They couldn’t understand why we would buy the whole sheet and then cut a small piece out of it.”

The next day, on their way to meet with a Chinese government administrator, they spotted a large building-supply market. On their lunch break, they rushed back to the market and began asking the vendors questions they couldn’t get answered by the Chinese companies they visited. “We actually got more information from them than from anyone else,” the inspector said.

“It was quite a spectacle. People wondered, 'What all these Americans were doing here?'” one of the officials said. “We were there for about two hours, putting drywall samples into our backpacks and briefcases.”

The vendors told them the quality of the drywall they dealt with varied widely. They said some of it had a foul odor, and one vendor mentioned a specific brand that was known for its bad smell. The vendor was shocked when the Americans asked to buy some.

“He said he didn’t have any because his customers all complained about it,” said the CPSC inspector, who would not divulge the name of the brand.

The team sent the samples back to the United States through the U.S. Embassy in Bejing, because they worried that Chinese officials might seize them at the airport.

“We didn’t want to take a chance,” the inspector said.

***

China hasn’t provided any more information to the CPSC since the U.S. delegation returned home 14 months ago.

In May, the CPSC released test results [3] of 10 Chinese drywall samples that released the highest levels of sulfur gas. It said that three of the 10 were manufactured in 2009, more than a year after Chinese-made drywall began causing corrosion and health problems for U.S. homeowners.

The agency is continuing to test the samples, but it still hasn’t determined what is causing the problem. The CPSC officials interviewed by ProPublica and the Herald-Tribune said that without more information from China about raw materials and production methods, they may never be able to answer the question.

When ProPublica and the Herald-Tribune told Florida Sen. Bill Nelson what happened to the CPSC in China, he said China’s treatment of the U.S. delegation was “inexcusable.” Florida has been especially hard hit by the drywall problem.

“The president should consider the strongest economic sanctions against China until they own up to their responsibility to American consumers,” Nelson said. The White House did not respond to questions for this story.

In April, Nelson wrote a letter [4] to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, urging her to push China “to act responsibly and help find a remedy” for the drywall issue. Nelson told Clinton he was particularly alarmed by the fact that he had “raised the issue of defective drywall directly with Premier Hu Jintao” in April 2010 and the premier said he knew nothing about the drywall problem.

In June, the State Department told [5] Nelson that it had met with a Chinese product-safety minister and had urged that Chinese companies meet with the CPSC and discuss a “fair arrangement to benefit the Americans who have suffered.” The Chinese government said “the matter was under careful review.”

The State Department would not respond to specific questions about whether it has offered any additional help to CPSC. Instead it sent a statement saying it “believes that coming to a fair resolution of this trade-related problem is a matter of great importance to the United States, and should be of similar importance to China.”

But earlier this month, an attorney representing Taishan— which is owned in large part by the Chinese government—suggested that [6] the company’s executives still aren’t convinced that their drywall is problematic.

“They absolutely do not understand why their high-quality drywall allegedly emitted excessive amounts of hydrogen sulfide,” Taishan’s attorney, Joe Cyr, told the New Orleans federal court that is hearing multidistrict litigation about the drywall problem.

Harris, the trade attorney, said China has little incentive to cooperate with the federal investigation.

“The Chinese government doesn’t care at all about homeowners in the U.S.,” Harris said. “Let’s face it. They care about protecting companies in China. If that means not sharing samples with the U.S., then that’s what they are going to do.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------

HUD and CPSC Issue Guidance on Repairing Homes With Problem Drywall

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) today issued interim remediation guidance to help homeowners struggling to rid their properties of problem drywall linked to corrosion of metal in their homes such as electrical components.

Earlier this year, HUD and CPSC issued a protocol to help identify problem drywall in the home. Today’s interim remediation guidance is being released in recognition that many homeowners want to begin remediating their homes and offers a next step to homeowners whose homes have been determined to have problem drywall.

“This guidance, based on the CPSC’s ongoing scientific research, is critical to ensuring that homeowners and contractors have confidence that they are making the appropriate repairs to rid their homes of problem drywall,” said Jon Gant, Director of HUD’s Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control. “The remediation guidance issued today is the latest step in an ongoing process that the Intergovernmental Task Force on Problem Drywall has undertaken to address this problem directly. We will continue to work with our Congressional, State and local partners as they seek policy solutions based on our guidance and the CPSC’s scientific findings.”

Based on scientific study of the problem to date, HUD and CPSC recommend consumers remove all possible problem drywall from their homes, and replace electrical components and wiring, gas service piping, fire suppression sprinkler systems, smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms. Taking these steps should help eliminate both the source of the problem drywall and corrosion-damaged components that might cause a safety problem in the home. To view a full text of the remediation guidance, visit the federal Drywall Information Center website (PDF).

“Our investigations now show a clear path forward,” said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. “We have shared with affected families that hydrogen sulfide is causing the corrosion. Based on the scientific work to date, removing the problem drywall is the best solution currently available to homeowners. Our scientific investigation now provides a strong foundation for Congress as they consider their policy options and explore relief for affected homeowners.”

This interim remediation protocol is being released before all ongoing scientific studies on problem drywall are completed so that homeowners can begin remediating their homes. CPSC will continue to release its scientific studies as they are completed.

Completed studies show a connection between certain Chinese drywall and corrosion in homes. CPSC is continuing to look at long term health and safety implications.

CPSC is releasing a staff report (PDF) on preliminary data from a study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) that measured chemical emissions from samples of drywall obtained as part of the federal investigation for CPSC.

The top ten reactive sulfur-emitting drywall samples were all produced in China. Certain Chinese samples had emission rates of hydrogen sulfide 100 times greater than non-Chinese drywall samples. The patterns of reactive sulfur compounds emitted from drywall samples show a clear distinction between the certain Chinese drywall samples manufactured in 2005/2006 and non-Chinese drywall samples. Some Chinese drywall samples were similar to non-Chinese samples. Finally, several Chinese samples manufactured in 2009 demonstrate a marked decrease in sulfur emissions as compared to the 2005/2006 Chinese samples.

CPSC is also releasing a study (PDF) by its contractor, Environmental Health & Engineering Inc., that tested whether sulfur-reducing bacteria are present in Chinese drywall. Eight out of ten drywall samples tested showed no bacterial growth including Chinese samples that emitted high levels of hydrogen sulfide in the LBNL study. One sample of Chinese drywall and one sample of U.S. drywall showed very low levels of sulfur-reducing bacterial growth.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns consumers to exercise caution in hiring contractors who claim to be experts in testing for and removing problem drywall. In a December 2009 Consumer Alert, the FTC recommends that homeowners confirm a contractor’s references, qualifications and background before agreeing to hire them.

Also in December, HUD announced to cities, counties and states that the funds they receive from HUD’s Community Development Block Grant program may be a resource to help local communities combat the problem drywall. These Block Grant funds are given to communities which decide how to spend them, within the requirements of the law that set up the grant program. Homeowners should contact their city or county to see if they have programs that can help.

In addition, HUD has encouraged its FHA mortgage lenders nationwide to consider extending temporary relief to allow families experiencing problems paying their mortgages because of problem drywall, to allow the homeowner time to repair their homes. Families with FHA-insured loans should contact their mortgage lenders directly. HUD also is encouraging non-FHA lenders to give affected families the same consideration.

To date, the Intergovernmental Task Force on Problem Drywall, which includes CPSC, HUD, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has released the following information on problem drywall:

• August 2009 – Testing conducted by federal and state agency radiation laboratories, which found no radiation safety risk to families in homes built with drywall.

• October 2009 – CPSC investigated every 2009 import with a possible connection to imported Chinese drywall and confirmed that no new gypsum drywall was imported from the beginning of 2009. CPSC staff set up mechanisms to detect any possible future imports and has continued to investigate any and all suspected drywall imports. CPSC sent notices to the warehouses where any remaining Chinese drywall is stored informing them of CPSC’s ongoing investigation and informing them that the warehouses should notify CPSC if they sell, transport, or dispose of any drywall from their inventory.

• October 2009 – Initial results on three studies of Chinese and non-Chinese drywall:

Elemental and chemical tests on drywall found the presence of elemental sulfur in Chinese drywall but not in non-Chinese drywall. The tests also showed higher concentrations of strontium in Chinese drywall than in non-Chinese drywall.

Chamber studies showed that Chinese drywall emits volatile sulfur compounds at a higher rate than U.S. made drywall. The study found that sulfur gases were either not present or were present in only limited or occasional concentrations inside the homes, and only when outdoor levels of sulfur compounds in the air were elevated.

• November 2009 – Results of CPSC’s 51-home study which shows a strong association between homes with problem drywall, the levels of hydrogen sulfide in those homes and corrosion of metals in those homes. In addition, CPSC’s General Counsel provided guidance to Congress and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on the possible applicability of the casualty loss provision in the Internal Revenue Code for affected homeowners.

• January 2010 – Interim Identification Protocol, prepared by HUD and CPSC, to help homeowners identify if they have problem drywall.

• April 2010 – Interim Remediation Protocol, prepared by HUD and CPSC, CPSC staff report on drywall emissions by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and EHE bacteria study.

Homeowners who believe they may have problem drywall should immediately report to CPSC by calling 800-638-2772 or visiting the Drywall Information Center. Deaf or hard of hearing individuals may access the phone number through TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339.

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The CPSC Staff Executive Summary for this April 2, 2010 release can be found at http://www.cpsc.gov/info/drywall/execsum0410.pdf

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HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and, supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development, and enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov. For more information about FHA products, please visit www.fha.gov.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC's Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270. To join a CPSC e-mail subscription list, please go to https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx. Consumers can obtain recall and general safety information by logging on to CPSC's Web site at

For Immediate Release :February 25, 2010

Contact:Jennifer Fuson
American Association for Justice
Jennifer.Fuson@justice.org
202-965-3500 x8609

Foreign Manufacturers Account for 83% of 2009 Recalls

Bill Introduced in U.S. House to ensure foreign manufacturers held to same standards as U.S. companies

Washington, DC - Eighty-three percent (312) of the 377 recalls announced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in 2009 were from foreign manufacturers, according to an analysis by the American Association for Justice (AAJ).

Despite this fact, foreign manufacturers are able to skirt the law and export billions of dollars of products to the U.S. without facing the same legal accountability for product defects that U.S. manufacturers face, even when their products injure or kill Americans.

Today, U.S. Representative Betty Sutton (D-OH), Michael Turner (R-OH), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduced the bipartisan Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act, legislation that would make it easier for U.S. consumers to hold foreign manufacturers of defective products accountable.

"Foreign corporations shouldn't be able to export their products to our country without following our laws too," said American Association for Justice President Anthony Tarricone. "Both American businesses and consumers suffer when a foreign manufacturer cannot be held accountable through our legal system. It is critical we pass this bill so foreign manufacturers are held to the same standards and justice system as U.S. manufacturers."

The 2009 CPSC data is similar to the 2008 figures, when 84% (329) of recalls were from foreign manufacturers out of 392 total recalls for the year.

Currently, bringing a case against a foreign manufacturer requires serving legal notice on the company in their country. This often means translating the papers into the language of the native country and tracking down the companies' foreign address, adding time and thousands of dollars in expense to the legal process.

One example of foreign manufacturers escaping accountability involves Taishan Gypsum, a Chinese manufacturer of drywall. Over 500 million pounds of the sulfuric gas-emitting Chinese drywall was shipped to the U.S., which is now plaguing thousands of homeowners. Taishan Gypsum, a company owned by the Chinese government, is currently being held in default for failing to respond to a putative class action brought by builders that used the company's drywall in homes.The final default ruling is expected any day out of the U.S. District Court in New Orleans.

The Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act does several things:

 
• Requires manufacturers to have an "agent" located in at least one state where the company does business that would accept service of process for civil and regulatory claims.
• Companies would consent to state and federal jurisdiction, holding foreign manufacturers accountable to those judicial standards.
• The legislation covers products regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), such as children's toys; the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), including prescription drugs and medical devices; and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), like pesticides.

Similar legislation has been introduced in the Senate by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jeff Sessions (R-AL), and Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL).

To see the full list of CPSC's 20009 recalls, see http://www.justice.org/resources/Recalls_of_CPSC_2009.pdf .

To see the full list of CPSC's 2008 recalls, see http://www.justice.org/resources/Recalls_of_CPSC_2008.pdf .

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As the world's largest trial bar, the American Association for Justice (formerly known as the Association of Trial Lawyers of America) works to make sure people have a fair chance to receive justice through the legal system when they are injured by the negligence or misconduct of others--even when it means taking on the most powerful corporations. Visit http://www.justice.org.

For Immediate Release:February 17, 2010

Contact:Jennifer Fuson
American Association for Justice
202-965-3500 x8609

AAJ Press Room

AAJ: Drywall Manufacturers Should Register with CPSC; Have Strict Labeling Requirements

Greater CPSC Oversight Will Help Protect Consumers, Prevent Chinese Drywall Problems in Future

Washington, DC — Recent hazards associated with drywall show the need for greater labeling and registration requirements, according to comments submitted to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) by the American Association for Justice (AAJ). The comments are in response to the agency’s notice seeking guidance regarding identifying labels for drywall.

"Mandating a set of uniform markings on all drywall would greatly assist homeowners and investigators in isolating the source of drywall problems," according to AAJ’s submitted comments.

Drywall, especially drywall manufactured in China, has been identified by the CPSC as containing high levels of hydrogen sulfide, causing corrosion of metals in homes and contributing to numerous health-related problems. To date, the agency has not recalled any drywall or clearly identified any specific batches of the bad drywall, making the scope of the problem difficult to identify. The agency is now moving to establish protocols to identify homes with the corrosive drywall and determine effective remediation procedures.

AAJ’s comments request the CPSC to:

 
• Require labels to include enough information so that the drywall remains easily identifiable when installed, including manufacturer name, plant name and location, date of production, and batch or lot number.
• Ensure the location of the labels be easily accessible, including labeling both sides of the drywall.
• Require drywall manufacturers that import drywall into the U.S. to register with the CPSC, including plant locations and the names and descriptions of products.

"There is little doubt that the previous lack of oversight over drywall has contributed to the prolonged problems thousands of homeowners are experiencing," said AAJ President Anthony Tarricone. "New guidelines will help aid in quickly identifying any problematic drywall in the future and make it easier to recall the product, if needed," added Tarricone.

As of late January, the CPSC had reported receiving over 2800 incident reports related to drywall from 37 states and the District of Columbia.

On February 19, 2010, the U.S. District Court in New Orleans will begin an evidentiary hearing to hold Taishan Gypsum, a Chinese manufacturer of drywall, in default for failing to respond to a putative class action brought by builders that used the Chinese company’s drywall in homes. The Chinese drywall multidistrict litigation bellwether trial will begin on March 15, 2010.

For more information on Chinese drywall, view AAJ’s timeline athttp://www.justice.org/resources/Timeline_Jan_2010_update_1_27_10.pdf.

To see the CPSC’s latest report on the drywall investigation, visithttp://www.cpsc.gov/info/drywall/.

For a copy of the comments, please contact AAJ Communications at 202-965-3500 x8609.

Luckey & Mullins Joins with Other National Construction Defect Law Firms to Form Chinese Drywall Legal Network

Mississippi-based law firm helps create joint venture group with five other firms to form "Dream Team" of plaintiffs' attorneys handling defective construction litigation

Ocean Springs, Miss. (Lexis Nexis) December 11, 2009 -- Luckey & Mullins, a Gulf Coast law firm that represents plaintiffs in a wide range of personal injury, construction defect, products liability and toxic mold cases, has joined forces with five other highly regarded law firms to form the Chinese Drywall Legal Network.

This unique joint venture group is made up of a diverse team of expert attorneys with a combined 150 years of experience in handling the complex legal issues that arise in disputes involving defective construction products, such as Chinese drywall. In addition to Ocean Springs, Miss.-based Luckey & Mullins, The Chinese Drywall Legal Network includes law firms with offices in Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina and Washington, D.C.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, there was a serious shortage of domestic drywall needed in the construction of new housing units. In response, U.S. distributors began importing large amounts of drywall from China, which was never adequately tested or inspected. It has now been found to contain significant amounts of sulfur and sulfur-related compounds and other impurities. In addition to a variety of structural problems that these compounds can cause to a house, homeowners have also been reporting physical ailments, including coughing, irritated eyes, sneezing, sore throat, difficulty breathing, bloody noses and headaches after being exposed to the problematic Chinese drywall.

"Our team of experienced and well-respected lawyers has successfully represented thousands of homeowners in other defective construction litigation cases, often winning multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements for our clients," said Steve Mullins, partner in Luckey & Mullins. "We are heavily involved in the multidistrict litigation Chinese drywall action in New Orleans right now and the attorneys in our network hold many key positions and are either co-chairs or members of 17 committees that have been formed to help streamline Chinese drywall cases through the courts. We are at the leading edge of this litigation and have access to the latest court decisions, experts and case strategies for helping consumers who have claims they wish to pursue."

According to Mullins, significantly more than 500 million pounds of Chinese drywall was imported into the U.S. and up to 100,000 homes, condos, and apartment units likely contain the problematic Chinese drywall right now. "We are at the tip of the iceberg right now," Mullins said, "and all we are sure of at this time is that this is the most significant construction defect problem to ever face this nation and the consequences of how we deal with it will be both far reaching and long lasting."

Ft. Bragg Clears Chinese Drywall, Housing in Infant Deaths

An investigation by public works officials at Fort Bragg have found no evidence that the deaths of 10 children who lived in base housing since 2007 were related to toxic Chinese drywall.

The North Carolina military base’s Directorate of Public Works announced this week that tests have ruled out the possibility that the environmental structure of the homes was the cause of the deaths, but they have not turned up answers for the series of unexplained infant deaths. Tests performed for toxins in the drywall, carbon monoxide, mercury vapor, mold, lead and asbestos where all negative or at levels well below the standard for human exposure set by the federal government.

Last month, it was reported that Army officials were investigating the deaths and whether there may be a possible connection to side effects of Chinese drywall. One of the ten homes initially tested positive for Chinese drywall before subsequent testing under different parameters determined that the toxic drywall was not in the home. Originally, the investigators were so certain of the tests that they told the family to evacuate the home, but a later test, using different parameters, found no Chinese drywall.

The distributor of the drywall has told local media that they did not use tainted drywall from China.

Fort Bragg officials tested all 10 homes connected to the deaths of children between 8 months and 2 years of age who have died in military housing on the base over the last three years. They now indicate that the homes have been ruled out as part of the problem, and indicate that they are confident the homes are safe structures.

Millions of sheets of the toxic drywall were imported from China into the United States due to a domestic shortage caused by a housing boom and construction following a serious of hurricanes that struck the southeastern United States. The CPSC has confirmed more than 6 million sheets were imported into the country in 2006 alone.

The CPSC has received thousands of complaints from across the United States from homeowners who say that toxic Chinese wallboard imported between 2004 and 2007 releases sulfuric odors, causes health problems, and corrodes wiring and appliances.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is still investigating the deaths at Fort Bragg, however. Parents say that the infant deaths were preceded by coughing, nose bleeds, eczema and asthma. In some cases, they reported a “rotten eggs” smell permeating the home, which is similar to experiences by people whose homes have been built with imported Chinese drywall that emits high levels of sulfur.

Homeowners throughout the United States have filed lawsuits over Chinese drywall, naming manufacturers, distributors and builders. In June 2009, all of the federal drywall litigation was consolidated and centralized in an MDL, or Multidistrict Litigation, in New Orleans under U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon.

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Homeowners Now Have a Warranty-backed Option to Reduce the Cost of Fixing Their Corrosive "Chinese" Drywall Homes by 50% to 70%

National Construction Warranty Corporation released the details of the NSRP-National Selective Remediation Protocol today. Largely following the recommendations of the CPSC, the NSRP will bring affordable repair options to thousands of homeowners with corrosive (Chinese) drywall.

Cornelius, NC (PRWEB) October 29, 2010

Homeowners plagued by corrosive drywall now have hope! National Construction Warranty Corporation has released its long awaited warranty program for the selective removal of corrosive drywall (better known as Chinese drywall.).

Backed by the reputable 10-Year National Warranty, homeowners now have a viable option to potentially reduce the cost of fixing their homes by 50% to 70%.

“National’s research shows that many homes with corrosive drywall have it in less than 20% of the home. When the bad boards are isolated or are in a limited number of rooms, a warranty-backed NSRP (National Selective Remediation Protocol) is more appropriate than a complete gut. With a protocol protected by the National warranty, a few sheets of drywall no longer doom an entire house. The NSRP will begin to restore the value of all CDW (Corrosive Drywall) homes immediately as well as help stabilize home values in general within the markets hardest hit by CDW ” says Chris Burton, CEO of National Construction Warranty Corporation.

The average repair cost for a home containing any amount of corrosive drywall was estimated at $100,000 by Towers and Perrin, an insurance risk assessment company. With a warranty-backed NSRP, repairs for qualifying homes could drop to an average of $20,000 to $35,000, which would include a 10-Year National Warranty with up to $500,000 of protection. The National Warranty greatly reduced or removes the risk and/or stigma associated with owning a former CDW.

The NSRP, or National Selective Remediation Protocol, specifies the removal of corrosive drywall based on the amount and location of the corrosive drywall in the home. National requires a rigorous inspection to determine the location of the corrosive drywall within the home. The inspection and scope of work are reviewed by National and, if approved, qualify the home for repairs just to the affected areas of the home. Once these repairs are completed, National will issue a warranty with up to $500,000 of coverage against the presence of corrosive drywall.

According to Dawn Wilkinson, a National representative and Realtor, the NSRP changes the nature of the entire Chinese drywall problem. “When someone finds out that they have Chinese drywall, the home value plummets to nearly nothing. The NSRP changes everything. If the home qualifies for selective removal, the cost could end up being under $30,000. That number is manageable for many homeowners while they wait for reimbursement from legal action or a class-action settlement,” said Wilkinson while attending an expert symposium this week in Fort Lauderdale, Florida sponsored by the Building Envelope Science Institute.

According to Shawn Macomber, a leading national expert in corrosive drywall and a National Warranty advocate based in New Orleans, the number of homeowners that could be helped by the NSRP selective protocol could grow to over 100,000. “The major hurricanes of 2005 damaged over 335,000, the majority of which needed new drywall. Corrosive drywall was used on many of these homes when repairs took place. The areas of damage in these homes are predictable and often limited, making them ideal candidates for selective removal. With National's warranty-backed NSRP, a total gut protocol is no longer necesary in most cases,” according to Macomber.

Interested homeowners, inspectors, and contractors can contact Angela at National for additional information at 704-806-4066 or Dawn(at)NationalCDW(dot)com. Visit National’s website at http://www.nationalcdw.com.

-- Brad Coates

For more information about Luckey & Mullins, please go to www.luckeyandmullins.com or call 800.874.3175.