Florida residents are among those experiencing health issues stemming from drywall installed in their homes, along with residents from Mississippi, Virginia and Louisiana.
Recently, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry issued their report on the tainted drywall that originated from China and caused serious health complications for American homeowners.
The agency tests showed defective product samples that gave off sulfurous fumes that worsened with “increasing temperature and humidity,” both factors abundantly present in Florida weather.
Homeowners with the Chinese drywall installed suffered from respiratory ailments, headaches and other health problems. They also experienced mechanical problems with air conditioning units and appliances and reported an unusual corrosion problem with some metals in their homes.
Last year, the Drywall Safety Act was passed to make it easier to identify defective drywall and its manufacturer. Drywall must now also meet sulfur standards. The new law should prevent residents from being forced out of their homes and into financial ruin after the interiors of the houses had to be stripped bare and rebuilt. This unfortunate situation, coupled with the bottoming out of the housing market, left many Florida residents and others teetering on the edge of personal bankruptcy and foreclosure.
Even after a flurry of congressional inquiries and litigation, remediation protocols were slow coming, as United States authorities pressed the Chinese manufacturers for solutions and accountability. They were stonewalled by limited cooperation from China while lawsuits dragged on through the courts.
The purchase of the family home is likely to be one’s largest financial expenditure. If catastrophic flaws are present that make the home unlivable, it can herald financial ruin for homeowners that can take decades to dig out from.
If you purchased or built a home with defective drywall, filing suit with the court against the manufacturer may be your best option.
Source: Herald-Tribune, “Hard facts on drywall” No author given, May. 07, 2014
