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American-Made Drywall Emerges as Potential Danger
Two years after thousands of Americans learned that defective Chinese drywall had contaminated their houses, a new group of homeowners say they are experiencing similar problems—but their homes are built with drywall made in the United States.
Ninety-seven homeowners in four states have joined lawsuits against U.S. drywall manufacturers in the past year, claiming that their drywall is releasing enough sulfur gas to corrode wiring and appliances and cause headaches, nosebleeds, labored breathing and irritated eyes—complaints that until now have been mostly associated with Chinese drywall [1]. Many families have abandoned their homes, fearing long-term health problems. Some are facing foreclosure, or even bankruptcy.
Plaintiffs in the largest lawsuit, which involves 93 Florida homes [2], blame the problem on drywall made by National Gypsum, one of the nation’s largest drywall manufacturers. Separate cases have been filed against National Gypsum in Arizona and Alabama.
Two other lawsuits, each involving a single homeowner, have also been filed. One, in South Dakota, is against U.S. Gypsum. The other, filed by a Florida couple against Georgia Pacific, has been settled out of court.
All the manufacturers deny that anything is wrong with their products.
Lawsuits represent one side of a legal dispute, and none of the American drywall cases have come to trial. But court records show that many of the plaintiffs have test results from independent laboratories that show high levels of sulfur gas coming from the walls of their homes.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys say in court documents [3] that the outgassing may somehow be connected to synthetic gypsum, a form of coal ash produced by the scrubbing process that removes sulfur dioxide from the emissions of coal-fired power plants. Nearly half of American drywall is now made with this synthetic product, known as flue gas desulfurized gypsum or FGD gypsum.
Despite its increasing popularity, synthetic gypsum isn’t regulated by the federal government. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency supports [4] the reuse of FGD gypsum because it protects the air, recycles waste that would otherwise go to a landfill and creates useful products.
The industry has voluntary standards [5] for drywall, but they apply only to fire resistance and strength. Michael Gardner, executive director of the Gypsum Association, a trade group that represents the drywall industry, said additional oversight is unnecessary.
“There has never been a problem with the use of FGD gypsum wallboard since its inception,” Gardner said.
At least one of the lawsuits [3] also points to another possible cause: that the defective drywall was made with scrap from recycled drywall—perhaps Chinese drywall.
In September, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission commissioned a study of a small group of homes with problematic American drywall, similar to the study it completed last year of homes with Chinese board. But figuring out what is causing the problems — and who should pay to fix them — is likely to be a long and laborious process. After two years of studying Chinese drywall, the agency still hasn’t figured out [6] what caused it to release sulfur gases, and the homeowners’ lawsuits are still mired in the courts.
The CPSC’s main theory [7] in the Chinese drywall cases is that one or several of the mines that supplied the manufacturers with natural gypsum contained a high concentration of sulfur. But CPSC inspectors say it’s also possible that some of the defective Chinese drywall was produced with synthetic gypsum from Chinese power plants.
For homeowners who believe their houses have been contaminated by U.S.-made drywall, the scientific question of what is causing the problem is overshadowed by the more immediate question of how they will survive the financial disaster they now face. The CPSC’s preliminary guidelines [8] for remediating homes made with defective drywall say all the drywall and electrical wiring should be replaced, an undertaking [9] that can cost $100,000 or more.
“I felt totally and completely alone when we found out we had American drywall,” said Julie Mraz, whose small Florida home was built with National Gypsum drywall. “I thought, oh my God, now what? I hadn’t heard of anyone having problems with it.”
Mraz and her husband both have severe health problems, and the house was built to accommodate Joseph Mraz’s wheelchair. Soon after they moved in, however, they noticed a strong sulfuric smell and the coils on their air conditioner corroded—a telltale sign of defective drywall. Joseph Mraz’s childhood asthma returned for the first time in the Mraz’s 29-year marriage. When his breathing became so labored that he had to be hospitalized, the couple’s doctors urged them to move out of the house. They are now renting an apartment, and Julie Mraz said her husband’s breathing problems have improved.
Freefall to foreclosure
John and Katherine Kallas, who built their dream home in Lehigh Acres, Fla., in 2005, are among more than a dozen people ProPublica and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune interviewed who say that defective American drywall has upended their lives.
In October 2005, the Kallases began paying a $180,000 mortgage on a home they had built on a lot they purchased for $40,000. About a year after they moved in, the hallmark signs of defective drywall began to appear.
They suffered constricted breathing, headaches and other health problems. Their dishwasher broke down, then their refrigerator. The air-conditioner failed soon after its coils corroded.
“A bunch of jewelry kept turning black. I kept cleaning it and it kept turning black. I lost three TVs. My computer crashed. I bought a brand new one, and then that one crashed too,” Katherine Kallas said.
When a relative called in December 2008 and asked if the Kallases had heard about the Chinese drywall problem, the family became even more confused.
John Kallas immediately climbed into the attic to see if he could find any Chinese trademarks on their drywall. Instead, he found markings for National Gypsum and U.S. Gypsum.
The Kallases hired Miami-based attorney, David Durkee, who was recruiting Chinese-drywall victims in Lee County, which has had more drywall problems [10] than any other county in Florida [11]. They also sought tax relief from the Lee County property appraiser’s office, which lowered the assessed value of their three-bedroom home.
In 2009 the Kallases’ builder sent an inspector to examine the house. They soon received a letter confirming their fears.
“Test results confirmed the presence of the effects from sulfide gases and the presence of drywall releasing these gases,” the company said in the letter.
Builder K. Hovnanian offered to repair the Kallases’ home by removing all the wiring and drywall and then ventilating the house for 14 days before installing new drywall and wiring.
But the Consumer Product Safety Commission hadn’t yet released its remediation protocol, and the Kallases worried that the builder’s plan might be inadequate. They rejected the offer and in February 2010 moved into a rented house.
Katherine Kallas said their attorney “just kind of blew us off from there.” When she called Durkee to ask about her case, she said she got updates on the progress of the Chinese drywall litigation.
“I’d have to remind him that I have American drywall, but he doesn’t seem interested in going after our manufacturer,” she said.
Durkee told ProPublica and the Herald-Tribune that he isn’t suing National Gypsum or U.S. Gypsum because he is confident he can persuade the Kallases’ builder and drywall distributor to compensate them for their losses.
The Kallases couldn’t afford to pay both their rent and their mortgage, so they stopped paying the mortgage. Eventually they received a foreclosure notice from their lender, Wells Fargo. Their home is scheduled to be auctioned later this month.
“This is an unfortunate situation and a reminder to all homebuyers that it is important to know everything possible about the materials used in a home before it is purchased,” said a Wells Fargo executive in an e-mail to ProPublica and the Herald-Tribune. “We sincerely hope the Kallases are successful in their efforts to resolve their differences with the home builder.”
The Kallases now worry that Wells Fargo will force them to pay the difference between what they owed on the house and what it will eventually sell for, which would force them to declare bankruptcy.
“It’s terrible. It’s very upsetting. We thought we were responsible homeowners. We had never missed a mortgage payment before,” Katherine Kallas said.
http://www.propublica.org/article/am...tential-danger
Two years after thousands of Americans learned that defective Chinese drywall had contaminated their houses, a new group of homeowners say they are experiencing similar problems—but their homes are built with drywall made in the United States.
Ninety-seven homeowners in four states have joined lawsuits against U.S. drywall manufacturers in the past year, claiming that their drywall is releasing enough sulfur gas to corrode wiring and appliances and cause headaches, nosebleeds, labored breathing and irritated eyes—complaints that until now have been mostly associated with Chinese drywall [1]. Many families have abandoned their homes, fearing long-term health problems. Some are facing foreclosure, or even bankruptcy.
Plaintiffs in the largest lawsuit, which involves 93 Florida homes [2], blame the problem on drywall made by National Gypsum, one of the nation’s largest drywall manufacturers. Separate cases have been filed against National Gypsum in Arizona and Alabama.
Two other lawsuits, each involving a single homeowner, have also been filed. One, in South Dakota, is against U.S. Gypsum. The other, filed by a Florida couple against Georgia Pacific, has been settled out of court.
All the manufacturers deny that anything is wrong with their products.
Lawsuits represent one side of a legal dispute, and none of the American drywall cases have come to trial. But court records show that many of the plaintiffs have test results from independent laboratories that show high levels of sulfur gas coming from the walls of their homes.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys say in court documents [3] that the outgassing may somehow be connected to synthetic gypsum, a form of coal ash produced by the scrubbing process that removes sulfur dioxide from the emissions of coal-fired power plants. Nearly half of American drywall is now made with this synthetic product, known as flue gas desulfurized gypsum or FGD gypsum.
Despite its increasing popularity, synthetic gypsum isn’t regulated by the federal government. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency supports [4] the reuse of FGD gypsum because it protects the air, recycles waste that would otherwise go to a landfill and creates useful products.
The industry has voluntary standards [5] for drywall, but they apply only to fire resistance and strength. Michael Gardner, executive director of the Gypsum Association, a trade group that represents the drywall industry, said additional oversight is unnecessary.
“There has never been a problem with the use of FGD gypsum wallboard since its inception,” Gardner said.
At least one of the lawsuits [3] also points to another possible cause: that the defective drywall was made with scrap from recycled drywall—perhaps Chinese drywall.
In September, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission commissioned a study of a small group of homes with problematic American drywall, similar to the study it completed last year of homes with Chinese board. But figuring out what is causing the problems — and who should pay to fix them — is likely to be a long and laborious process. After two years of studying Chinese drywall, the agency still hasn’t figured out [6] what caused it to release sulfur gases, and the homeowners’ lawsuits are still mired in the courts.
The CPSC’s main theory [7] in the Chinese drywall cases is that one or several of the mines that supplied the manufacturers with natural gypsum contained a high concentration of sulfur. But CPSC inspectors say it’s also possible that some of the defective Chinese drywall was produced with synthetic gypsum from Chinese power plants.
For homeowners who believe their houses have been contaminated by U.S.-made drywall, the scientific question of what is causing the problem is overshadowed by the more immediate question of how they will survive the financial disaster they now face. The CPSC’s preliminary guidelines [8] for remediating homes made with defective drywall say all the drywall and electrical wiring should be replaced, an undertaking [9] that can cost $100,000 or more.
“I felt totally and completely alone when we found out we had American drywall,” said Julie Mraz, whose small Florida home was built with National Gypsum drywall. “I thought, oh my God, now what? I hadn’t heard of anyone having problems with it.”
Mraz and her husband both have severe health problems, and the house was built to accommodate Joseph Mraz’s wheelchair. Soon after they moved in, however, they noticed a strong sulfuric smell and the coils on their air conditioner corroded—a telltale sign of defective drywall. Joseph Mraz’s childhood asthma returned for the first time in the Mraz’s 29-year marriage. When his breathing became so labored that he had to be hospitalized, the couple’s doctors urged them to move out of the house. They are now renting an apartment, and Julie Mraz said her husband’s breathing problems have improved.
Freefall to foreclosure
John and Katherine Kallas, who built their dream home in Lehigh Acres, Fla., in 2005, are among more than a dozen people ProPublica and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune interviewed who say that defective American drywall has upended their lives.
In October 2005, the Kallases began paying a $180,000 mortgage on a home they had built on a lot they purchased for $40,000. About a year after they moved in, the hallmark signs of defective drywall began to appear.
They suffered constricted breathing, headaches and other health problems. Their dishwasher broke down, then their refrigerator. The air-conditioner failed soon after its coils corroded.
“A bunch of jewelry kept turning black. I kept cleaning it and it kept turning black. I lost three TVs. My computer crashed. I bought a brand new one, and then that one crashed too,” Katherine Kallas said.
When a relative called in December 2008 and asked if the Kallases had heard about the Chinese drywall problem, the family became even more confused.
John Kallas immediately climbed into the attic to see if he could find any Chinese trademarks on their drywall. Instead, he found markings for National Gypsum and U.S. Gypsum.
The Kallases hired Miami-based attorney, David Durkee, who was recruiting Chinese-drywall victims in Lee County, which has had more drywall problems [10] than any other county in Florida [11]. They also sought tax relief from the Lee County property appraiser’s office, which lowered the assessed value of their three-bedroom home.
In 2009 the Kallases’ builder sent an inspector to examine the house. They soon received a letter confirming their fears.
“Test results confirmed the presence of the effects from sulfide gases and the presence of drywall releasing these gases,” the company said in the letter.
Builder K. Hovnanian offered to repair the Kallases’ home by removing all the wiring and drywall and then ventilating the house for 14 days before installing new drywall and wiring.
But the Consumer Product Safety Commission hadn’t yet released its remediation protocol, and the Kallases worried that the builder’s plan might be inadequate. They rejected the offer and in February 2010 moved into a rented house.
Katherine Kallas said their attorney “just kind of blew us off from there.” When she called Durkee to ask about her case, she said she got updates on the progress of the Chinese drywall litigation.
“I’d have to remind him that I have American drywall, but he doesn’t seem interested in going after our manufacturer,” she said.
Durkee told ProPublica and the Herald-Tribune that he isn’t suing National Gypsum or U.S. Gypsum because he is confident he can persuade the Kallases’ builder and drywall distributor to compensate them for their losses.
The Kallases couldn’t afford to pay both their rent and their mortgage, so they stopped paying the mortgage. Eventually they received a foreclosure notice from their lender, Wells Fargo. Their home is scheduled to be auctioned later this month.
“This is an unfortunate situation and a reminder to all homebuyers that it is important to know everything possible about the materials used in a home before it is purchased,” said a Wells Fargo executive in an e-mail to ProPublica and the Herald-Tribune. “We sincerely hope the Kallases are successful in their efforts to resolve their differences with the home builder.”
The Kallases now worry that Wells Fargo will force them to pay the difference between what they owed on the house and what it will eventually sell for, which would force them to declare bankruptcy.
“It’s terrible. It’s very upsetting. We thought we were responsible homeowners. We had never missed a mortgage payment before,” Katherine Kallas said.
http://www.propublica.org/article/am...tential-danger
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