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The federal government has launched a new section of its web site called the Drywall Information Center. The agency developed the section in an effort to field consumer questions and complaints about the influx of tainted Chinese-made drywall to the U.S. that occurred in 2006 and 2007 when domestic drywall supplies ran low.
In the 1970s, a blockbuster movie popularized the apocalyptic theory that radioactive material from a nuclear meltdown could burn through the earth’s core and resurface on the other side of the world. Today, the words “China Syndrome” could be an accurate description of the influx of dangerous consumer products flooding the U.S. market from overseas and China in particular – products such as toxic Chinese drywall, which builders and suppliers imported during the 2006-2007 building boom and post-Hurricane Katrina reconstruction efforts. These products, analysts are coming to understand, threaten to harm more than the American consumer and his wallet.
Dozens of accident victims and their lawyers made their way to Washington, DC, and the halls of Capitol Hill last week, urging lawmakers and the Obama administration to protect their ability to pursue medical claims against Chrysler and General Motors.
Congress, the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and a spectrum of state and consumer agencies are scrambling to unravel the mystery behind tons of toxic drywall that importers brought into the country from China. Enough drywall to build 30,000 homes entered U.S. ports from China in 2006 and 2007. Now, people in as many as 18 states claim that the drywall is making them sick while corroding their homes’ electrical wiring, air conditioning units, and other household systems.
Following an outbreak in October 2007 of salmonella poisoning linked to Banquet brand chicken pot pies, ConAgra, the manufacturer of the pies, immediately began talking food safety. But instead of assuming responsibility for manufacturing a contaminated product that sickened as many as 15,000 people, ConAgra suggested that killing any salmonella bacteria in its products before eating them was ultimately the consumers’ responsibility.
If it’s not lead in paint or melamine in dog food, then perhaps it’s poisonous drywall? The latest batch of toxic Chinese imports – some 550 million pounds of highly sulfuric drywall – has found its way into homes throughout the U.S. and even Canada. The cheap Chinese drywall flooded into the U.S. during the building boom, beginning in 2004, and peaked as the bustling economy and Hurricane Katrina put a strain on domestically manufactured drywall. Most of the affected homes appear to be in Florida, but newly constructed homes in several states and beyond are also affected.
Serious questions have arisen about the competency and training of the pilot who was in charge of flying the Colgan Air commuter plane when it crashed last February in Buffalo, New York. The crash claimed the lives of all 49 people aboard and one person on the ground. Investigators will announce their findings tomorrow in the case.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning today advising consumers to immediately stop using Hydroxycut diet products manufactured by Iovate Health Sciences, Inc. The agency has received 23 reports of serious health problems in people using Hydroxcut products, including varying degrees of liver damage ranging from jaundice to liver failure requiring a transplant, and death. Others reported having seizures, cardiovascular abnormalities, and rhabdomyolysis, a form of muscle damage that often leads to other serious health disorders such as liver failure.
The American Association for Justice is calling for a review of Bush administration regulations that it believes compromise the safety and rights of consumers who are injured in railroad accidents. The request was prompted by the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee’s nomination hearing of Joseph Szabo as the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) new administrator. Though Szabo’s nomination is not controversial, many lawmakers in the Democrat-controlled Congress believe the regulations and policies put forth by the previous administration favor big business at an enormous expense to the consumer.
Los Angeles police responding to a pro-Palestinian rally outside the Federal Building on Wilshire Boulevard were told not to wear protective head gear. As the demonstrations mounted, one police officer received a head injury when he was struck in the head with a sign. The Los Angeles Police Protective League, a union for the city’s finest, has taken action in response to the no-helmet order, claiming that commanders jeopardized the safety of their officers.
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