The latest Chinese product flap is coming from Florida, and it centers on a plasterboard company in Tianjin, the Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. LTD., part of Knauf, a Germany-based multinational supplier of building materials.
According to a story in the Fort Myers, FL News-Press by Mary Wozniak there have been 50 complaints of drywall from China that emits foul odors and causes “copper coils in air conditioning units and other copper surfaces to blacken.”
The company [Knauf] has three drywall manufacturing sites in China, including Tianjin Co. Ltd. The plasterboard, or drywall, was imported to the United States from Tianjin during the building boom launched by the ravages of Hurricanes Wilma and Katrina in 2005, Knauf said.
Habitat for Humanity, which has seven pallets of this drywall in a warehouse in Lee County, FL, is reporting that it “smells like burned matches, indicating a sulfur compound.”
The News-Press has documented complaints about blackened air conditioning coils, smells and other problems from residents in homes constructed by five builders. But Jack Snider, president of American Management Resources Corporation, an environmental testing company in Fort Myers, estimates at least 10 builders and hundreds of homes across South Florida are involved.
Snider’s company has done air-quality testing of about 25 to 30 homes complaining about the drywall in six South Florida counties in the past three years. They include Lee, Collier, Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade, he said.
There are a number of builders unfortunately affected by this, not just a handful,” Snider said. One of those builders, Lennar Homes, asked for a conference call – held Oct. 1 with the Sarasota County Health Department and EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] representatives – to notify it of the problem and discuss it, Niles said.
The sulfur compound emitted by the drywall not only blackens and corrodes coils, it can harm metals such as chrome, brass and silver, said Morgan Beall, who does air-quality testing for American Management Resources.
That means microwaves, lighting fixtures, silverware, and other household items could be affected, Beall said.
It appears that the problem may not be restricted to Florida. According to this article the EPA is now reporting that they are also receiving complaints from Virginia Beach, VA.
The summary of air-sampling results done by an American firm states that the Knauf Tianjin product has “naturally occurring sulfur compounds.”
The main compound identified is hydrogen sulfide, which comes from iron disulfide found in the plasterboard, the report said.
Knauf is investigating.
________
Related Links:
In the walls, a new health concern, Sarasota Herald Tribune, January 11, 2009
Chinese drywall emitting strange odors, Environmental Expert.Com, January 9, 2009
7 responses so far ↓
1 Josianne // Jan 11, 2009 at 2:59 pm
H2S is a poisonous gas. Oil refineries carefully monitor the amount of it in the air as it is extremely toxic. This stuff won’t give you kidney stones nor a high fever. It’ll kill you with one good whiff.
Hold your noses!
2 jg // Jan 11, 2009 at 3:04 pm
And it’s in the walls. If you’re buying any sheetrock, make sure you know from whence it came.
3 Adam Minter // Jan 12, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Thanks for catching this. I can’t speak for what’s used in the drywall manufacturing process in Tianjin, but I have some knowledge of this industry, and I’m aware that in some parts of south China the environmental authorities have signed off on the use of plastic e-waste as a constituent in drywall. Now, there’s no reason to believe – prima facie – that there’s anything hazardous about plastic e-waste (basically, fiberglass), but one wonders about how the waste is transformed in the drywall manufacturing process. In any event, I’m guessing that the drywall plant isn’t ISO 9000.
4 Dan Richards // Jan 15, 2009 at 9:02 pm
The gas is deadly at a certain level, though all of the air quality testing done in Florida to date has shown very low levels, no higher than 15ppb which does not pose any health concerns. Long term effects however are unknown.
5 Rene // Feb 7, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Our home also has Chinese Drywall. We settled in 2006 and our punch sheet which we found has smell written on it.
Also during our punch sheet the mirrors had turned black, and drains were also black. The builder Taylor Morrison took care of this under the warranty, however they did not think there was a smell.
We only use this home in the winter, but that does not make it any less important to us. We try and come as often as possible, and it was our “happy” place. Two days ago after confirmation of Chinese Drywall, we vacated our home.
The smell is not so much like rotten eggs to me. It was more like a wood burning or maybe a varnish smell.
I kept thinking something was dead in the walls.
When we returned this Oct. the smell was as strong as ever, and our mirrors had all turned black again, our drains all pitted again, and our new TV and computer had gone bad.
We left to return in Dec. and when company came over, she said, you had better check for Chinese Drywall.
Because I had never heard of it, I decided to call the builder. After three calls none of which were returned, I went home for a few days, and returned in January, and called the corporate office. We had all been noticing scratchy throats, burning of the eyes, and also nasal drip and headaches.
Taylor Morrison sent out three men on the morning of the 2nd of February. They said it was their first complaint, however this is not true. There is a girl who complained some time ago, only to be told they would put in a air purification system.
These three men said they had never heard of it, and they only use good materials. Read their web site, FALSE ADVERTISING at its best.
I told them my daughter and i needed to be relocated immediately. Taylor Morrison has many empty homes that should not be effected.
Taylor Morrison then called me and said they had no proof it was a health hazard and did not believe i had Chinese Drywall. They told me they had not used it.
I then called the Health Dept to find out that there was a simply way of testing to verify you may have it.
That is to pull off an outlet and if the cooper wire is black, chances are very good you have Chinese Drywall.
The outlet was pulled the wire black.
The fact the air conditioner had failed also pointed to a problem.
After finding a black wire, I called Taylor Morrison with my findings and told them to come look. I had company, and I will tell you they were simply appalled at the statements made by their company rep
Birch from Taylor Morrison said he smelled it but that it was again probably not Chinese Drywall. My friends told him we were being poisioned. I contacted the law offices I saw who were handling cases. Ultimately I chose Richard Serpe of Virginia.
I again contacted Taylor Morrison this time calling the CEO directly. This time i got her assistant who while having a sympathic ear, said she could only relay the messages. She said the CEO of the Southwest Division would call me.
HE did not . I told Dawn the assistant we needed to be relocated. She said she would again relay it.
I also then got a call from the CEO of the SW division who said that it was not dangerous. I hung up.
Taylor Morrison does not care, their web site is false, and they left me in harms way. Anything that shuts down TV’s, ruins mirrors, and pits metal can not be good for you.
Further, I believe the state of Florida should condemn all of these homes until proven they are SAFE! Why are we waiting to prove they are not.
Two days ago, an investigator with my attorneys office and an engineer came and spent six hours in my home. He is an expert and immediately identified the smell. However being a scientist, he pulled samples from outlets and the AC.
After gaining much of his evidence, labeling it, and taking photos and videos, the said he really needed a piece of drywall. Knauf Tianjin was making much of what was being found to be defective. After cutting into the wall, and putting his scope in, he found a big piece with the name Knauf Tianjin very big on the boards.
I cried and am still in shock. I am worried about my health and my families health. We immediately vacated the premises. We are now in Naples at friends trying to find a rental in high season. I need to be here to move our things out, and to be available . We have friends with plane tickets coming and we have no home. My business is internet out of my home and I can not work. I have lost sleep and am writing this at 2 am. I am worried about our health, and do not know what to do next.
Our homes, all of us with Chinese Drywall have a very big problem. They need to be plowed to the ground. Their value is nothing. Even if the unit is gutted out, forever we must disclose if we sell that the homes have Chinese Drywall.
The state needs to step up. Our builder Taylor Morrison has treated us as if we are a thorn in their side, and has done nothing. In fact they said it would be two weeks to be tested something I had done within in 24 hours. They would not have anyone call who did not say they did not use Chinese Drywall.
The CEO Sheryl Palmer would not return my calls. Her assistant said she knows about it, and can not help me, because they have to help anyone the same.
What I know is the engineer who is testing daily said he had never seen it that bad.
I hope we all get help, and someone helps us.
Taylor Morrison used sub standard materials and then told me to deal with it.
Now the attorneys get rich, all around the country, but at least they protect us.
6 DeAnna // Mar 28, 2009 at 7:36 am
how can we find out if our drywall was from China and is a bad product, we just recently built a home in Arizona, thank you
7 Jim Gourley // Mar 28, 2009 at 8:52 am
You need to find a place in your home where you can read the back of the drywall. Attic or basement spaces are often good places to look. In the atic, remove some of the insulation that is and look at the back. There should be a brand name. You can also Google news search on “chinese drywall problem” and you will get a lot of hits. Many people have the same question as you.
Leave a Comment