Update: CPSC opens Drywall Information Center

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Since its initial findings that Chinese drywall contains substances less present in U.S. drywall or not present at all, the CPSC has worked with its Chinese counterpart to pursue the case after hundreds report the building material is sickening.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com

Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), recently set up a Web site to keep consumers, drywall manufacturers, builders and other apprised of its investigation into the latest problematic Chinese import, drywall used to build homes.

Drywall imported from China, blamed for rotten egg odors, fast metal corrosion and health problems for some homeowners, contains sulfur and other materials not found in U.S. made drywall, according to preliminary federal tests.

CPSC's Drywall Information Center offers updates (online and via email) on the investigation, help for homeowners trying to determine if their drywall is making them sick, where drywall problems have been reported and other related information.

Preliminary research from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found the Chinese-made drywall contained sulfur, which is not in U.S. drywall, but widely used in black gunpowder, matches, insecticides and fungicides.

EPA tests also found strontium, (a metallic element that is highly reactive chemically, including, in a finely powdered state, spontaneous ignition at room temperature) at levels 10 times as high as in U.S. drywall.

The EPA also found two other organic compounds, generally found in acrylic paint, but not in U.S.-made wallboard. They were
• propanoic acid, 2-methyl-, 2,2-dimethyl-1-(2-hydroxy-1-methylethyl) propyl ester
• propanoic acid, 2-methyl-, 3-hydroxy-2,4,4-trimethylpentyl ester.
latest, potentially explosive, problematic import.

Since those findings, the CPSC has worked with their Chinese counterpart, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) and hope to visit Chinese gypsum ore mining and wall board manufacturing facilities. CPSC also hosted Chinese officials visiting homes in Florida and Louisiana.

Some 36,000 homes in Florida, as well as additional properties in post-Hurricane Katrina Louisiana and Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi and California, were constructed with the Chinese-made material, recently found to be quite different from U.S.-made drywall.

CPSC is also investigating complaints, tracking imports, analyzing health effects, air sampling 50 homes, collecting samples and otherwise pursing the investigation.

The questionable residential building material has been installed in some 100,000 homes nationwide according to U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), whose high number of complaining constituents put him at spearhead of an effort to learn more about the suspect drywall.

The case has drawn class action and builder-originated suits against suppliers and manufacturers.

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© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com

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Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist, parlayed 30 years of old-school journalism into a digital real estate news service, the San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group, including DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service and Web site, and the Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's news back shop.

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Chinese drywall latest, potentially explosive, problematic import

Va voom! 'Hottest First Lady'

Consumers complain Chinese drywall stinks, corrodes, makes them sick. EPA finds it unlike US-made drywall. Investigation to continue and likely find real problems.

by Broderick Perkins
© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com


Unauthorized use of this story is a copyright violation -- a federal crime

Deadline Newsroom - Drywall imported from China, blamed for rotten egg odors, fast metal corrosion and health problems for some homeowners, contains sulfur and other materials not found in U.S. made drywall, according to preliminary federal tests.

The questionable residential building material has been installed in some 100,000 homes nationwide according to U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), whose high number of complaining constituents put him at spearhead of an effort to learn more about the suspect drywall.

Some 36,000 homes in Florida, as well as additional properties in post-Hurricane Katrina Louisiana and Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi and California, were constructed with the Chinese-made material, recently found to be quite different from U.S.-made drywall.

With the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) the lead federal agency looking into complaints surrounding Chinese drywall, preliminary research from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found the Chinese-made drywall contained sulfur, which is not in U.S. drywall, but widely used in black gunpowder, matches, insecticides and fungicides.

EPA tests also found strontium, (a metallic element that is highly reactive chemically, including, in a finely powdered state, spontaneous ignition at room temperature) at levels 10 times as high as in U.S. drywall.

The EPA also found two other organic compounds, generally found in acrylic paint, but not in U.S.-made wallboard. They were
• propanoic acid, 2-methyl-, 2,2-dimethyl-1-(2-hydroxy-1-methylethyl) propyl ester
• propanoic acid, 2-methyl-, 3-hydroxy-2,4,4-trimethylpentyl ester.

The preliminary tests were only designed to find differences in the imported drywall and U.S.-made drywall, after scores of homeowners complained of smelly odors, respiratory health problems, and corroding wiring, metal, jewelry and mirrors.

With class action and builder-originated suits swelling against suppliers and manufacturers, hundreds of homeowners complained to Florida's Department of Health, which offers a host of informational materials, including

• Frequently Asked Questions Web page.
• A Drywall Issues Timeline, outlining the sequence of events.
• A do-it-yourself Step-by-Step Self-Assessment Guide for signs that a home may be affected by drywall imported from China.
• Much additional help.

Along with Nelson, U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) has sponsored appropriations legislation for more CPSC funds so it can further investigate the matter.

"In the end, I think all this stuff is going to have to be ripped out," Nelson said.

"Sen. Nelson and I are continuing to work closely with federal officials to get answers for families with sick children and pets, construction workers and builders removing the product, and local health officials who are concerned with dumping the drywall in their landfills ."

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© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com

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Swimming Pool Season Safety Tips

Religiously follow Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) advice for swimming pool safety at your home and make the pool both a safe and valuable feature of your home. A child can drown in less than five minutes, in two inches of water and not make a sound.

Read CPSC's "Pool and Spa Submersion: Estimated Injuries and Reported Fatalities, 2008 Report"


by Broderick Perkins
© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com

Deadline Newsroom - Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional death in children aged 1 to 4. Drowning deaths involving children younger than 5 in pools and spas is up and the number of emergency room treated pool and spa submersion injuries numbers remains in the thousands every year.

And a new 2008 Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) report also says the majority of water related deaths and injuries occur in residential settings and involve children ages 1 to 2.

A new federal pool and spa safety law the "Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act" was signed by the President Bush on December 19, 2007 to improve public pool safety. It also brings attention to private pool safety. It was named for the granddaughter of former Secretary of State James A. Baker, III, who at the age of 7, died in a spa after the powerful suction of a drain entrapped her under water.

The goal of the law is to improve the safety of all pools and spas, public and private, by increasing the use of layers of protection and promoting uninterrupted supervision to prevent child drownings and entrapments.

If your home has a pool, it behooves you to take recommended steps that will not only keep members of your household safe, but also improve the value of your home as a safe pool home.

A child can drown in less than five minutes, in two inches of water and not make a sound.

Drowning occurs most often when children get access to the pool during a short lapse in adult supervision. To reduce the risk of drowning, pool owners should adopt several layers of protection, including physical barriers, such as a fence completely surrounding the pool with self-closing, self-latching gates to prevent unsupervised access by young children. If the house forms a side of the barrier, use alarms on doors leading to the pool area and/or a power safety cover over the pool.

"I encourage all parents to contact their local American Red Cross chapter and ask about the many services offered," said Suzy DeFrancis, Chief Public Affairs Officer for the American Red Cross.

"From CPR and First Aid training to the Learn to Swim program, the Red Cross can be your greatest resource to preventing any pool and spa accidents this summer," DeFrancis added.

In addition, parents should use these tips to help prevent drowning deaths:

• If a child is missing, look in the pool first. You may have only seconds to save a child's life.

• Recognize your legal responsibility to provide a safe environment for children and adults alike. Be proactive in preventing accidents. All family members should learn to swim, they should know how to use safety equipment and they should take classes in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). It can be a lifesaver.

• Despite what your local building codes may or may not require, put a fence or wall around your pool. It should be at least four feet high and installed completely around the pool. Gates should be self-closing and self-latching. The latch should be out of a small child's reach. If your home forms one side of the barrier to the pool, doors leading from the house to the pool should be protected with alarms.

• For above-ground pools, steps and ladders to the pool should be secured and locked, or removed when the pool is not in use.

• Install a power safety cover and always use it when the pool is not in use. The covers also help prevent evaporation, they help keep heated pools warm and they help cut down on cleaning maintenance. Do not allow children in a pool or spa with missing/broken covers. Inserting an arm or leg into the opening can result in powerful suction and total body submersion/drowning.

• Keep rescue equipment by the pool including life preserver and reaching pole or other device. Also keep a phone poolside. Keep essential life saving gear accessible, visible, and in proper working condition.

• Remove the diving board from your private backyard pool. The risk of injury is too great. Everyone should walk, not run around the pool. Avoid pushing, shoving and horseplay in or around the pool.

• Use pool alarms as another layer of protection. Include remote alarm receivers so the alarm can be heard inside the house or in other places away from the pool area.

• Allow no one, child or adult, swimmer or non-swimmer, to enter the pool unless a responsible person is accompanying them. Never leave an accessible pool unattended. Non-swimmers should wear approved safety vests at all times in and around the pool. Flotation devices are not a substitute.

• Keep the drunks out of your pool. Never let intoxicated guests enter your pool.

• Regularly maintain your pool so it doesn't become an mosquito (West Nile Virus) breeding ground. Inspect pools and spas for missing or broken drain covers. Don't leave toys and floats in the pool that can attract young children and cause them to fall in the water when they reach for them.

© 2008 DeadlineNews.Com

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Broderick Perkins, an award-winning consumer journalist of 30 years, is publisher and executive editor of San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews.Com, a real estate news and consulting service, and the new Deadline Newsroom, DeadlineNews.Com's new backshop. In both cases, it's where all the news really hits home.

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