FEMA Denies Florida Request for Chinese Drywall Assistance
March 19, 2010 – Florida homeowners who unknowingly have had faulty Chinese drywall placed in their homes during the past decade won’t receive federal compensation after officials for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) this week denied a request for financial assistance from Florida officials.
More than 2,500 residences have been identified by Florida officials as having lost value due to faulty drywall installed mostly in the early and mid 2000s and have nearly 90 other damage claims pending tied to Chinese drywall. Florida’s Lee County has had more than 1,100 homes damaged by Chinese drywall, and state officials have identified another 530 homes suffering metal corrosion after exposure to corrosive elements in some batches of Chinese drywall, the Insurance Journal reported this week.
Officials for Florida’s Division of Emergency Management last May requested financial aid through FEMA to help state homeowners afflicted with the bad Chinese drywall. State officials said Florida homeowners have “suffered greatly” and cannot afford to repair damaged homes, forcing many to move out to avoid possible health complications from noxious odors and fumes emitted by the bad Chinese drywall.
Federal officials said the bad drywall did not amount to either a disaster or an emergency qualifying for federal emergency-management funding despite much of the drywall having been placed in homes damaged by four hurricanes that pummeled the Sunshine State in 2004 and in the wake of 2005’s hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Instead of requesting emergency relief funding, FEMA officials suggested Florida officials work with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and federal housing authority officials to obtain federal assistance first made available in December to homeowners afflicted with faulty Chinese drywall.
A recent federal study of 51 U.S. homes equipped with drywall manufactured in China indicates a “strong” link between in-home corrosion and drywall contents. Investigators from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission with the help of Chinese officials recently conducted an indoor air study of dozens of homes recently equipped with drywall manufactured in China. Without declaring results conclusive, researchers say there is merit to the more than 2,000 complaints the federal agency has received from U.S. homeowners.
“We now can show a strong association between homes with the problem drywall and the levels of hydrogen sulfide in those homes and corrosion of metals in those homes,” investigators for the Consumer Product Safety Commission said in their announcement of results.
Research results indicated hydrogen sulfide gas emitted by contaminated drywall is the primary culprit in corroding copper and silver in homes equipped with Chinese drywall. Researchers also discovered elevated levels of formaldehyde in newer homes – whether or not they had Chinese drywall. Modern cabinetry and carpeting emit low levels of formaldehyde, according to researchers. Although formaldehyde and hydrogen sulfide gas amounts detected were too low to pose safety risks, federal investigators suspect a combination of them and other compounds commonly found in homes potentially might be harmful to structures and public health.
Officials for the Consumer Product and Safety Commission intend to work with federal lawmakers to implement corrective measures and look into potential health problems tied to the substandard drywall.
As the U.S. housing boom hit its peak near the turn of the century, a shortage of construction materials forced many builders to utilize drywall manufactured in China. Unfortunately, some Chinese drywall contains gypsum and trace elements of strontium sulfide, which can emit corrosive sulfuric compounds and an odor similar to rotten eggs.
A recent report by the Associated Press indicates some 500 million pounds of Chinese gypsum board was imported to meet domestic construction demands – particularly between 2004 and 2008 when thousands of homes along the Gulf of Mexico were being rebuilt in the wake of four hurricanes slamming into Florida during a month-long stretch in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita destroying large areas of New Orleans and other Gulf Coast communities in 2005.
Federal officials estimate about 100,000 homes in the United States contain Chinese drywall. The total cost of replacing the faulty drywall could reach $25 billion, according to the Towers Perrin consulting firm. Some Chinese drywall manufacturers have said their products are safe and suggested bad gypsum tainted only some of the materials shipped to the United States in recent years. Many homeowners have blamed the Chinese drywall for corroding their homes’ copper pipes, causing other property damage and making family members ill.