Chinese Drywall Now Affecting Canada

Karl Truman
Attorney
(866) 735-1102 Ext 315
Posted by Karl TrumanMay 18, 2009 1:42 PM
Tags: None

Homeowners in British Columbia and Vancouver have now joined the surge of Chinese Drywall claims. Chris Montgomery, of Canwest News Service, provided that:

Thomas Martin, president of America's Watchdog, says that in the past two weeks about a dozen Lower Mainland callers have all reported experiencing the same nose bleeds, breathing problems and allergy-type symptoms that have affected homeowners across the U.S.

Chinese Drywall is alleged to contain high level of sulfur, which releases a strong, rotten egg smell. The sulfur may cause insomnia, coughing, headaches, dizziness, and breathing difficulties. Homes in the United States were built with the Chinese Drywall, due to the shortage in drywall during the post hurricane season in 2004.

The AP reported that:

Shipping records indicate that imports of potentially tainted Chinese building materials exceeded 500 million pounds during a four-year period of soaring home prices. The drywall may have been used in more than 100,000 homes, according to some estimates, including houses rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina.

Michael Foreman, head of construction consulting firm Foreman & Associates in Sarasota, Florida, said he's been investigating drywall complaints in that state since last year and is sharing information with at least one group of lawyers preparing lawsuits on the matter. Based on shipping records, Foreman estimates the United States in 2006 and the first two months of 2007 imported enough drywall from Chinese manufacturers named in lawsuits to produce at least 50,000 homes at a size of 2,000 square feet each.

However, the use of Chinese Drywall is not limited to new home construction in Florida and Louisiana. Reports of its use has been found in homes in Georgia, Arizona, Texas, Nevada, Connecticut, Maryland, to name a few. Many states have implemented class-action lawsuits against the manufactures of the drywall.

It is currently unknown what, if any legal recourse Canadian citizens may take against the Chinese Drywall manufactures. However, it does appear that the Chinese Drywall issue has reached international importance and has dramatically impacted the lives of many families in both the U.S. and Canada.

Click here to get more information on Chinese Drywall from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

8 Comments

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Doug
Posted by Doug
May 18, 2009 3:39 PM

There are many more people "experiencing the same nose bleeds, breathing problems and allergy-type symptoms" who own homes that don't contain contaminated Chinese Drywall then there are that do. You can conjure up thousands of sick people by telling them about the health related issues this drywall allegedly causes. If they happen to live in a house that was built in the 2000"s then watch out, they'll be reporting themselves to Thomas Martin, president of America's Watchdog.

C6
Posted by C6
May 18, 2009 3:43 PM

When will people learn, if you buy anything made in China you are buying sub-standard to hazardous junk. Chinese companies couldn't care less about the end user.

Doug
Posted by Doug
May 18, 2009 4:03 PM

Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin, Ltd has been making drywall for a while now. Their board is in many other countries. The process they used is similar to that being used by other manufacturers around the world, even right here in the USA. There was not any intent to contaminate the drywall and infect the houses here. I personally buy American products and do not want to buy foreign product. But we still have to focus on what it is for one, that's causing the problems, two, who had it shipped here and three, who they sold it to. Once those three questions are answered we"ll know where it went. From there we can begin to locate, inspect and replace this tainted drywall. Right now we're getting ready to see Congress step in and take care of things. One thing they want to do is visit a plant in China with a delegation of 5 people and to make two visits to a plant here in the USA with a delegation of 6 people. I don't know about the rest of you but I'm not too enthusiastic about seeing our Congress going about this in the manner they've described.

Leasa
Posted by Leasa
May 18, 2009 6:49 PM

Well, just look at how the Chinese government continues to treat the families that lost children because of poorly constructed schools that literally disintegrated during the earthquake. That should tell you about the level of caring for human life that this communist government has. People in the U.S. & Canada have to look out for themselves...if it's made in China...back away, back far, far away.

Chris
Posted by Chris
May 18, 2009 9:47 PM

I disagree that the blame should only be placed on the Chinese factories. Who is importing these goods? North American companies, of course. Remember the lead-containing toys issue a few months ago? Well, it turns out that the American company in charge of designing the toys couldn't give a damn that they'd be poisoning their own kids. The factories themselves could hardly take all the blame. God bless America.

Jason
Posted by Jason
May 19, 2009 8:27 AM

Doug sounds like an industry shill trying to discredit anyone with legitimate health concerns. Shame on you Doug!

Ken
Posted by Ken
May 19, 2009 9:43 AM

Another reminder of why I buy nothing from China when I can find a comparable product made in Canada or the U.S. I don't care if I do have to pay a bit more money. I prefer to spend my dollars to keep jobs here in North America, and I have a lot more faith in the quality of goods.

Doug
Posted by Doug
May 19, 2009 10:06 AM

No shill Jason, just experienced in the industry. I know first hand as I've said before, people are curious to see what ails them. If they fit the criteria set forth by the "experts", "insomnia, coughing, headaches, dizziness, and breathing difficulties" then people would like to now. If they own a home built during this period then sure check it out. Believe me, I'm not discrediting anyone with any health concern except those who are uninformed, misinformed or just trying to instill fear to gain from this.

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