Friday, December 11, 2009
Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Science Writing
November 27, 2009
“That New Home Smell….”
By Phil Ammann
It all starts with a smell…
At first, it seems the acrid scent is a ‘new home’ odor of freshly completed construction. A little like a brand new car.
In early 2006, Robert Morris purchased his home, a contemporary Mediterranean styled townhome bathed in fashionable earth tones. The new three-story structure sits on the edge of a peaceful community 45 miles inland from the Gulf of Mexico.
Robert expected the smell to go away eventually.
He hoped.
An annoying blend of rotten egg and ash, the odor in his condominium is truly obnoxious. It comes from dihydrogen sulfide, carbonyl sulfide and carbon disulfide gases. Each is emissions from the sulfur-laden drywall imported through German manufacturer Knauf Plasterboard and sold to builders in the United States. Manufacturing the drywall was Knauf’s plant in Tianjin; a thriving industrial center located south of Beijing, China.
The U.S. imported 6.2 million sheets of drywall from China in 2006, totaling about 67.3 million pounds. Much of it used in the construction and repair projects throughout Florida and the Gulf Coast.
Chinese drywall entered the U.S. as early as 2002, sold mainly through retailers such as Lowes and Home Depot. Both companies have since discontinued selling the Knauf product. Beazer Homes used Knauf Plasterboard to build the interior of Robert’s home.
Robert Morris’ home is in a quiet middle-class community named Hampton Lakes, just outside of Tampa. Only four years old, Hampton Lakes is one of the instant communities typical to Florida. The entire complex sprang up almost overnight. It was as the quick growing St. Augustine grass used in their lush, green lawns.
In his tastefully designed living room, Robert tensely sits on a tan leather sofa. He had always prided himself as an industrious man whose family owns several ice-cream trucks. Nevertheless, children are not buying as many treats as they once did. Due to the sagging economy, Robert was also forced to close his interior design office in North Tampa. Times have been tough.
Robert paid $300,000 for his home in 2006. It was a time when his fortunes were better. At the time, the condominium seemed to be a good purchase. He had even considered buying the unit next door. Now Robert sees his home, as well as his investment, as “worthless.”
All due to the smell.
“It is going to be a bad year for Florida,” Robert says. “I am forced to leave my home and find a second place to live.” His voice rises in frustration, “I just can’t afford it.”
“For example, I spend three times my normal electric bill running my air conditioner just to get the smell out.”
The smell had not gotten better at all. It was worse. Seeping into everything within its reach, the stench fouls everything Robert owns. However, the odor is only part of his problem.
Robert is coping with the same trouble affecting hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Floridians. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in the past 12 months received over 1900 complaints from families with tainted Chinese drywall. Nearly 75 percent of the complaints have been from Florida.
The first warning sign is the smell. The odor permeates carpets, upholstery, drapes and all surfaces in the home. People in 26 states have been found to be living with the same black oxidation, the same rotting wiring and plumbing. It is more than just a nuisance.
Families living in the homes also are suffering from the same nosebleeds, asthma, headaches and breathing problems.
William Bracken is president of Bracken Engineering, a Tampa firm that specializes in the repair and remediation of buildings damaged by environmental disasters. For the most part, his expertise comes from dealing with hurricanes and mold.
Bracken is a man who understands Chinese drywall. He is acutely aware of the huge economic result in the removal and repair of homes affected by the contaminated product. Several insurance companies and construction firms have contracted Bracken’s company to develop a solution, as well as estimates of overall cost, for Floridians.
Today he sits in the book-lined conference room of his corporate office, quietly relating difficulties in the Chinese drywall crisis. To Bracken, the issue is to separate legitimate contractors from sharks preying on people’s fears. He stressed the need for uniformity to protect consumers and builders.
“There are highly skilled individuals and then there are people who can turn a mountain into a molehill,” Bracken says. He speaks in the measured tones of an engineer accustomed to precision. “You are going to have an individual that tells consumers there is only one room affected and then there are people that will say the whole home needs removal.”
Sulfur is present in most drywall, according to Bracken. However, Chinese imports have much higher levels of toxic chemicals. In an April 2009 test, the EPA discovered not only elevated sulfur amounts—nearly 14 times the level of domestic brands—but also strontium levels as much as three times that of North American brands. Strontium is an element found frequently in radioactive fallout. Preliminary testing by the Florida Department of Health also discovered elevated levels of sulfur emissions in Chinese drywall over domestic gypsum board.
Bracken is working with the Florida Department of Health and several insurance firms to develop protocols to address Chinese drywall claims. It could ultimately affect thousands of residents forced out of their homes by the smell.
Tom Herman, a former Lennar Homes contractor who has built over 10,000 homes, believes Chinese drywall could eventually cost homeowners between 15 and 20 billion dollars. He now works exclusively with homeowners affected by Chinese drywall. Herman has over 35 years of experience as a general contractor, both with Lennar and US Homes.
“You should have your home inspected now,” Herman says. “Before your builder has difficulties and drywall suppliers and builders go out of business.” Herman and Bracken both see the reluctance of insurance companies to address repairs to effected homes.
“The insurance companies need a game plan to understand exactly where the problem lies,” Bracken says. “They want to know exactly when the drywall gets inside the house.”
That smell in Robert’s home comes from a long list of chemicals, the worst being dihydrogen sulfide, a noxious gas leaching from the walls of his home. In a press release, Beazer estimated at least 18 homes in the Hampton Lakes subdivision contains tainted drywall.
Sitting in the conference room Bracken is dressed in comfortable khaki shorts and a shirt stitched with the “Bracken Engineering” logo over the breast pocket. He apologizes for his casual appearance, explaining that he is preparing for a trip to the Middle East. On the large meeting table sits a folder about two inches thick, brought in by his secretary. The folder overflows with reports from testing laboratories and the Florida Department of Health.
“The smell is not the problem; the problem is corrosive gas. The gas attaches to soft metal, metals that with the most electrical potential, like gold and copper,” says Bracken. He opens the folder and thumbs through the pages.
“It creates a black film on the metal. It seems to like copper the best. You have it in your electrical wiring and air conditioning; you also have precious metals in your computers.”
The caustic gas turns wiring black, disintegrates piping and causing a list of health problems, including headaches and asthma. Most are in homes only four to five years old.
The U. S. Centers for Disease Control, in a September bulletin, listed symptoms of drywall emissions as “irritated and itchy eyes and skin, difficulty breathing, persistent cough, bloody noses, runny noses, recurrent headaches, sinus infection and asthma attacks.”
Tainted drywall has made Lisa Conti a busy woman. As the Director of the Florida Division of Environmental Health, she is responsible five separate bureaus: Environmental Public Health Medicine, Onsite Sewage Programs, Community Environmental Health, Water Programs, Radiation Control and the Office of Environmental Health Informatics and Preparedness. Dr. Conti, in her little spare time, volunteers as a clinical veterinarian.
In her quarterly department update, Conti declared, “our indoor air and toxicology staff at the local and state levels identified the problem.” They have been working energetically to develop an understanding of the degree Chinese drywall will impact Floridians.
“Our environmental epidemiologists are addressing the possibility of excess cancers in several communities,” Conti added.
Engineering firms and contractors are scrambling to meet the growing demands for drywall testing and repair. They have been working with states and federal agencies in developing protocols for the removal of tainted drywall. A “protocol” is a list of approved methods to identify and remove defective products, agreed upon by builders and the insurance industry. It offers all parties involved a checklist for replacement and remediation.
Replacement is only the part of the solution. For Robert and other homeowners, a protocol must include handling of personal possessions spoiled by sulfuric discharge.
“What about my appliances that stopped working,” Robert says. “Or my computers that shorted out? How about the carpeting and furniture? It’s all smells like rotten eggs.”
The rotten egg smell is from the emission of sulfur trioxide. When exposed to water vapor—plentiful in the humid climate of the Gulf Coast—sulfur trioxide quickly converts to sulfuric acid. Preliminary testing by the Florida Department of Health discovered levels of sulfur emissions three times higher in Chinese drywall than domestic gypsum board. Sulfur gas emissions are linked to instances of failure in electrical wiring, air-conditioning tubing and electronic products like computers and home security systems.
When Robert received a letter from Beazer Homes last July, informing him of the reason his home smells, he was shocked. It was just the beginning of the personal nightmare with his polluted home. Nobody foresaw problems with drywall. But like a dragon in a Chinese parade, the crisis has now begun to rear its massive head.
“Beazer wanted me to sign off from suing,” Robert says, “in exchange for replacement of only the drywall and nothing else.”
Soon afterwards, Robert received a letter from American HomeLife, his insurance carrier. They explained his policy would not cover repairs of tainted drywall. The responsibility for remediation falls on the builder.
Robert Morris, like thousands of others, is sitting on a cresting wave of alarm. Homeowners, lawyers, builders and insurance companies look to Florida and Louisiana, as well as the federal government, for leadership. Everyone involved is desperate for a roadmap in handling the thousands of stinking homes, rotting wiring and plumbing failures.
Using Chinese drywall in the Gulf Coast only intensifies the problem. When in contact with the humidity common in the Gulf States, sulfur content in gypsum releases corrosive sulfuric acid gases. Moisture seeps into the wallboard and mixes with drywall components, including sulfur and fly ash.
“If left alone, drywall does not do anything. Unactivated, the chemicals sit dormant. The problem comes in when you introduce moisture,” says Bracken. “When you add the water either in elevated humidity or ‘pre-water’ in the form of droplets, the chemicals react chemically and creates the gas.”
Seen as a health risk and a likely carcinogen by the EPA, fly ash is a common byproduct of coal production. Fly ash is also a component in Chinese gypsum, with levels three times higher than domestic and Canadian drywall.
The housing boom in 2004-2006 rested on a desire for homes to come in “on the cheap.” Builders needed projects completed on time and under budget. Pressured to maximize potential profits, they were hamstringed by mounting shortages of materials.
They began relying on available supplies of inexpensive Chinese drywall to meet scheduling needs. In every step of construction, crews worked to finish projects quickly. The push to maximize profits resulted in the increased use of imported materials.
On the horizon lies a myriad of health troubles and threats of massive lawsuits. Compounding the situation for builders is the potential of a huge financial debacle stemming from replacement costs of the defective products. Legal fees and medical bills follow repair and replacement costs. Owners in Hampton Lakes, lead by Robert Morris, filed a federal class action lawsuit scheduled to be heard January in the Federal District Court in Louisiana.
In July, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission sent Chairperson Inez Tenenbaum to visit the home of Richard and Patricia Kampf of Cape Coral. Florida had become central to the issue, with as many as100,000 homes built with the tainted material. By that time, the CPSC had received over 1300 complaints from homeowners.
