There's Gold in them walls!

WASHINGTON – July 1, 2009 – What do environmental laboratories, building contractors, chemical manufacturers and air quality technicians all have in common?All these businesses are hoping to be the ones to come up with a million-dollar answer that will solve the tainted Chinese drywall problem and to secure a share of the potentially lucrative remediation of thousands of homes across the country.To be sure, the legal community has recognized the potential revenue from a bounty of lawsuits already filed in multiple states. But this month, a Chinese drywall litigation conference drew not only attorneys, but also home builders, insurance company investigators, environmental testing laboratories and construction consultants.All are looking to cash in on what could be the biggest – and most lucrative – issue to come out of the housing boom since the mortgage crisis.Questions and theories abound about what’s going on with the defective wallboard. That uncertainty has created a cottage industry for local entrepreneurs who want to find and implement solutions or simply offer testing of homes.While it’s clear that certain types of Chinese drywall give off a sulfuric gas thought to corrode metal components in homes, the reason why it’s happening and what to do about it remains foggy.The problem, which was first made public in December, started with a handful of homeowner complaints but has increasingly grown in scope.The imported drywall has now become the subject of federal inquiry, local and national legislation efforts, and hundreds of lawsuits.The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has received complaints about the tainted material from people in 19 states and the District of Columbia. To date, more than 460 Florida residents have logged cases with the Florida Department of Health – although that number is thought to be only a small fraction of homes affected in this state.The material – which is thought to have been imported between 2000 and 2008 and used widely in construction because of building material shortages after the 2004 hurricanes and Florida’s housing boom – has also made its way into commercial structures, including office buildings and condominiums.There are no guidelines or standards for testing and remediation of the defective wallboard. The reason: it’s not clear exactly what’s wrong with it.Indeed, according to Dr. Kaye Kilburn, a California-based leading expert on hydrogen sulfide, all drywall can, under the right conditions, produce sulfuric gases.“This is not a new possibility,” he said, adding that he has worked with patients that had symptoms from hydrogen sulfide after being exposed to wet drywall in landfills. “It’s rather simple chemistry. The question is: Why did we suddenly begin with a problem with these particular types of gypsum drywall in the last several years? Why Chinese drywall? I wish I had the answer.” Some believe that the drywall was sprayed with some sort of fungicide or other material to prevent it from molding while shipping. Others argue that the drywall itself was made with a formula that included higher-than-normal levels of sulfur, bacteria or other compounds.Yet others theorize that the Chinese used a coal byproduct called “fly ash,” or that a mine that the gypsum was culled from was somehow tainted, or that perhaps the problem lies in the paper that covers the gypsum boards.For each theory, there’s a different solution. Or solutions.Entrepreneur Ken Coleman of Jupiter-based Coleman Labs has spent the past several months putting together a team of private-sector scientists, building consultants and others who he hopes will be able to come together as a “brain trust” to solve the drywall issue.Now, he’s working to try to secure more than $6 million in funding – from both private and governmental sources – to conduct the necessary research.“With all the technology out there right now from the biological, chemical and scientific communities, I bet we come up with an answer,” he said.Meanwhile, Gainesville-based U.S. Building Consultants Inc. has been conducting experiments on a Boynton Beach home affected by the tainted drywall. It believes it has found a solution to remedy the homes without tearing out drywall: an “RSU Series” machine that’s supposed to be able to catch and capture hydrogen sulfide off-gassing from the walls.At the same time, Palm Beach Gardens-based environmental firm SabCo Inc. has begun marketing what it calls a RISS System, which is meant to remove toxic and corrosive compounds from the air.Still others believe that the only true way to remediate affected buildings is to tear out the drywall – or even tear down the houses – and start over. And that, too, has attracted a gaggle of contractors and builders offering their services.In the past several weeks, Dave Laskey has been making calls to builders, homeowners and attorneys, looking to find a piece of defective Chinese drywall.A marketing consultant for a pest control company in Boca Grande, Laskey is hoping to connect his client to the drywall controversy.“If we could find a piece of the drywall, maybe we could come up with a cure,” Laskey said, adding that his client – Statewide Pest Control – works with a “national mold and pest killer manufacturer” that may be able to figure out some sort of spray or solution that would stop the effects of the tainted drywall.