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I don't have a suggestion. All I know is that a government bailout for something of this nature goes against all of my political beliefs - we do not live in a nanny state. The government is not our mommy and it is not the government's job to clean up messes they did not create.
But then again, most of what has been going on in this country for a few years goes against my political beliefs also.
If it's not our government's job to prevent toxic waste from being shipped into our country, who's job is it? There were clues early on that there was a problem, yet the shipments kept coming.
If it's not our government's job to prevent toxic waste from being shipped into our country, who's job is it? There were clues early on that there was a problem, yet the shipments kept coming.
There is currently no federal regulation on that sort of thing, so the responsibility still should not fall on the shoulders of the government. With that being said, I do think that this should spur on some type of new regulations regarding imports - between this, toys, formula, dog food... I would say its time to be way more careful about things that are made in China.
A simple cheap and VERY quick test to find out if you have chinese drywall.
Go buy a small link of copper wire. Break, or snip it into 3 inch pieces. Stick the pieces into the drywall poking through until then are stuck through the wall. Leave them for 3 days and remove. If the copper wire has turned black, then you got The Chinese crap drywall.
This lab doing testing released it's latest gross findings. He says the heavy amount of fungus and bacteria he also found in the CDW, and not in good U.S. samples, going airborne, can be a likely source of of some of the health related problems. Because the fungus and bacteria in the wall multiply, it can maybe explain why the problem seems to get worse with time, not better.
This group is organizing a Major CDW protest in North Ft. Myers on Dec. 5th, working to get more government and media attention regarding this toxic import-
This lab doing testing released it's latest gross findings. He says the heavy amount of fungus and bacteria he also found in the CDW
This thing just keeps getting worse and worse, but the finding of this bacteria is REALLY bad. Well they said they only tested five... but they found the bacteria in all five.
(CBS/AP) Federal studies released Thursday cannot yet definitively link imported Chinese drywall to health problems or corrosion of pipes and wires that thousands of U.S. homeowners have been reporting for nearly a year.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is leading the multi-agency investigation, said it needs to further study the matter before it can consider a recall, ban or other solutions to help affected homeowners. Additional results from ongoing studies were due to be released next month.
"The expansive investigation and scientific work that has been done and continues to be carried out is all aimed at providing answers and solutions," Lori Saltzman, a director in the CPSC's Office of Hazard Identification and Reduction, said Thursday. "No connections have been made yet."
Saltzman said the agency, which has so far spent $3.5 million on the studies, has received nearly 1,900 homeowner complaints during one of its largest consumer product investigations in U.S. history.
"We understand this problem has literally driven people from their homes," she said.
Homeowners, however, were frustrated by a lack of answers.
"So many of us have been really waiting on these results released today to offer us encouragement, but in fact, we're quite disappointed," said Holly Krulik, of Parkland, Fla., about 45 miles north of Miami.
Krulik and her husband, Doug, along with their two young children, moved in with her parents about six months ago because she says the Chinese wallboard in their home was making them sick and ruining the house.
"We're hanging on by a thread here. When is help going to arrive?" said Krulik, who will soon join hundreds of others who have filed lawsuits.
Thousands of homeowners like the Kruliks who bought new houses built with the potentially defective materials are finding their lives in limbo as the lawsuits against builders, contractors, suppliers and manufacturers wind through the courts.
During the height of the U.S. housing boom, with building materials in short supply, American construction companies imported millions of pounds of Chinese-made drywall because it was abundant and cheap.
A document obtained by CBS News shows that by 2006, 228 million kilograms - about 500 million pounds - was imported into the U.S. from 20 companies in China.
They are heavily concentrated in the Southeast, especially Florida and areas of Louisiana and Mississippi hit hard by Hurricane Katrina.
The defective materials have since been found by state and federal agencies to emit "volatile sulfur compounds." Officials have also found traces of strontium sulfide, which can produce a rotten-egg odor, along with organic compounds not found in American-made drywall. Homeowners complain the fumes are corroding copper pipes, destroying TVs and air conditioners, blackening jewelry and silverware, and making them sick.
And some homeowners are reporting that their insurance companies are dropping or refusing to renew their policies based on the presence of the wallboard in their houses, putting them at risk of foreclosure.
The federal test results released Thursday largely confirmed what prior testing had found. The multiple agencies investigating, including the CPSC, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, acknowledged the reported health symptoms are consistent with some sort of contamination. But the culprit is unclear.
The Chinese government is assisting with the investigation.
"We're prepared to work with our partners across government on remediation and rehousing families impacted by this problem and to help families whose homes have lost value," said Dr. Warren Friedman of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
In the meantime, he suggested affected homeowners contact their lenders for assistance or seek help through local grant programs, but he could not yet say what sort of federal help might be offered.
I read more then 400 pages of that report. In short it's a laughable joke to anyone who has been following INDEPENDENT research on this.
A Senator from Lousianna called it an insult to homeowners. She said, she didn't expect much though because early on she became aware of the testing methods being used.
After reading the report, I know what she was talking about. The DOH used tedlar bags for the air quality tests and sent them to the Columbia lab.
This is the SAME lab KNAUF has been using to help them get results that deny, there is any unusual problem with their drywall.
I am also aware of an air quality company in Florida run by a PHD, who early on got in to helping testing the homes for this. He first wanted to make sure that he was using the best equipment for the job, and the lab best able to detect sulfurous gases. He contacted many, followed their directives on what to use to collect the samples. He then intentionally filled all of the containers with very high levels of sulfurous gasses, so he could see, how well the labs equipment was able to detect them.
The sample that came back from Columbia wasn't able to detect any of the sulfurous gas he put in it.
He posted the results of his experiment in finding a good lab on his web-site.
What a conflict of interest for the DOH to be using the same lab KNAUF is.
That's the insult.
The laughable parts are where they carry on trying to indirectly divert attention to cleaning products, formaldehyde in furnishings, and reclaimed water used for the sprinkler system as a possible culprit to the health problems and metal corrosion.
They state the results of some other reports won't be ready until June of 2010.
Don't expect your guaranteed to work remediation protocal to be coming from them any time soon, if ever. These clowns, after all this time and money spent, say they still have no clue what is causing the exposure health symptoms and metal corrosion. They still will not even admit in the report that "something" in the drywall is the culprit.
Even the new head of the CPSC in her talks with China was caught saying in a passage, " IF it turns out that the drywall is the cause of the problems being reported."
Give me break.
If there was any last shred of belief that the Feds were handling this turtle paced investigation with integrity, they have completely blown it with me.
I read more then 400 pages of that report. In short it's a laughable joke to anyone who has been following INDEPENDENT research on this.
A Senator from Lousianna called it an insult to homeowners. She said, she didn't expect much though because early on she became aware of the testing methods being used.
After reading the report, I know what she was talking about. The DOH used tedlar bags for the air quality tests and sent them to the Columbia lab.
This is the SAME lab KNAUF has been using to help them get results that deny, there is any unusual problem with their drywall.
I am also aware of an air quality company in Florida run by a PHD, who early on got in to helping testing the homes for this. He first wanted to make sure that he was using the best equipment for the job, and the lab best able to detect sulfurous gases. He contacted many, followed their directives on what to use to collect the samples. He then intentionally filled all of the containers with very high levels of sulfurous gasses, so he could see, how well the labs equipment was able to detect them.
The sample that came back from Columbia wasn't able to detect any of the sulfurous gas he put in it.
He posted the results of his experiment in finding a good lab on his web-site.
What a conflict of interest for the DOH to be using the same lab KNAUF is.
That's the insult.
The laughable parts are where they carry on trying to indirectly divert attention to cleaning products, formaldehyde in furnishings, and reclaimed water used for the sprinkler system as a possible culprit to the health problems and metal corrosion.
They state the results of some other reports won't be ready until June of 2010.
Don't expect your guaranteed to work remediation protocal to be coming from them any time soon, if ever. These clowns, after all this time and money spent, say they still have no clue what is causing the exposure health symptoms and metal corrosion. They still will not even admit in the report that "something" in the drywall is the culprit.
Even the new head of the CPSC in her talks with China was caught saying in a passage, " IF it turns out that the drywall is the cause of the problems being reported."
Give me break.
If there was any last shred of belief that the Feds were handling this turtle paced investigation with integrity, they have completely blown it with me.
Yeah, doesn't that stink. No one wants to be left holding the bag so it will take years and years. The sad part is the homeowners are left high and dry with no alternatives.
I will repeat again for any one living with it to get out. Bad credit is so much safer than bad health.
TODAY- Judge Falon handling the Federal litigation set a dead line for all those wanting to make a legal complaint against KNAUF for Dec. 9 2009. This deadline to get in on the suit is just for those who have/had KNAUF drywall in their home.
Chinese Drywall Victims Must Act Now to Join Knauf Plasterboard Lawsuit (http://www.newsinferno.com/archives/13689 - broken link)
This is critical for those who know they have KNAUF and were on the fence about signing up in the MDL, or who thought they had more time too.
I'm not flexible with mine. What is the point of having beliefs if you are willing to waiver?
Wow, you wouldn't be willing to change your beliefs in light of new knowledge?
I am a very opinonated person, and I would never think I have complete understanding. If given facts contradicory to my beliefs I would hope I would be open minded enough to accept them and maybe learn something new.
As far as not being a nanny state, we already are and are quite happy about it when it benefits us or our loved ones.
We have welfare and social security so people aren't starving like they did in the depression.
Please don't take this as a personal attack, like I said I am opinionated and that statement kind of blew my mind.
The government has an obligation to step in and defend the people against being taken advantage of by unscrupulous business practices.
Without government controls greedy special interests would have even more power than they already have.
If we didn't waste billions of dollars on useless wars we would have no problem helping people with chinese drywall.
And lack of government controls in banking, thanks to the previous administration, is why our economy is a mess.
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Feds: Chinese Drywall Reports Inconclusive
