TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Drywall From China Raises Health, Safety Concerns

ADVERTISEMENT

TBO.com

Published: January 12, 2009

Updated: 01/12/2009 03:52 pm

TAMPA - Joining the wave of toys that were painted with lead-based paint and infant formula that was tainted, drywall from China is now raising a concern.

Florida officials are looking into a smattering of complaints from homeowners in South and Southwest Florida who say their walls stink and that some electrical and plumbing components are failing.

Most of the complaints have occurred south of Tampa.

As those complaints trickle in, Hillsborough County development officials say no one in this county has filed any complaints.

Wayne Francis, director of the county's building services division, said he was unaware of the issue until it was mentioned this morning.

"We haven't had any complaints about that," he said. "No complaints at all."

Drywall is the board used to make interior walls. Usually, it is manufactured here in the United States, but a housing boom between 2004 and 2006 and a need for construction materials following Hurricane Katrina had forced builders to buy from China.

Florida Department of Health officials are aware of the problem, although there hasn't been a flood of people filing complaints.

"Sixteen complaints," said department spokeswoman Susan Smith. "Total."

The department is in the process of looking into the matter, she said. So far, complaints have been filed from Pinellas, Manatee, Martin, St. Lucie and Lee counties.

"We are very interested in the possible health issues here," said Bob Kallotte, environmental specialist with the Sarasota County health department. "We have some evidence that people are experiencing symptoms as result of this, but we have not confirmed the cause. We are taking this very seriously."

Besides the health aspect of the tainted drywall, there are structural concerns. The wallboard is being blamed for corrosion of some metal components, including wiring for heaters and air conditioners.

"There does seem to be a strong association between the presence of the Chinese drywall and the coil corrosion issues," said David Krause, state toxicologist with the Bureau of Environmental Public Health Medicine.

Air-conditioning evaporator coils, which typically last a decade or more, are corroding and failing in homes only a couple of years old. Pipes and wiring also may be deteriorating.

The chemicals in the suspect drywall are measured at tiny levels, requiring sophisticated and complex equipment that only a few labs in the country have.

The state is planning to conduct more testing in coming weeks. "They are currently being identified by the county health departments and by individual homeowners who've called us," Krause said.

"The builders are in fear right now; they want to keep it as quiet as possible," said Mike Foreman, a Sarasota construction consultant who has been investigating the drywall issue. The damage to houses is considerable and very expensive to fix, he said.

"What's really the concern is what the long-term effects are on piping, wiring, everything that has been exposed," Foreman said. "Now you're talking about starting to have failures."

Miami-based Lennar Corp. conducted an extensive investigation after homebuyers complained about smells and coil corrosion. Lennar hired an environmental consulting firm to test the materials and found that the homebuilder had used Chinese drywall in Southwest Florida. Company representatives said independent contractors installed the product without Lennar knowing.

In a written statement, Darrin McMurray, Lennar's Southwest Division president, said the builder identified a small percentage of homes built from November 2005 to November 2006 where the Chinese product was used.

"Lennar has been working with our homeowners on long-term solutions that are based on the specific testing of their homes," McMurray said.

The company has begun removing the drywall and conducting other repairs in some of the homes.

Information from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune was used in this report.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT