Chinese Drywall and the Cost of Truth-Telling
As if Formosan termites weren't bad enough (they devour everything, not just wood), now New Orleans, and Florida, are coming to grips with their latest visitor from Over There: defective drywall. Wednesday's Times-Picayune reports that Bobby Jindal is--shock, horror!--asking the Feds for help in running indoor air tests of homes filled with Chinese drywall. The stuff is believed to emit noxious fumes--FEMA would know all about that, having supplied thousands of trailers that emitted formaldehyde gas--but these fumes also corrode copper wires and household appliances. You and your fridge both get sick. A twofer.
Of course, in the rush to get homes rebuilt after the federal levees failed and flooded the city, homeowners and contractors may have failed to ask, "Is my drywall from China?" This would be their reward.
The reward for a scientist who blew the whistle on the Corps of Engineers and their culpability for the flooding has also just been announced: LSU, after years of threats, has finally fired Dr. Ivor van Heerden, formerly the Deputy Director of the University's Hurricane Center. Ivor, whom I know personally just a bit, has been tenacious and courageous in leading one of the three independent forensic investigations of the disaster (his group released the Team Louisiana report on the flooding), and he's consistently made the mistake--in LSU administration's view--of being forthcoming in sharing his team's findings, and the results of the storm surge modeling done by his team, with the public.
There have long been murmurings that the previous administration in Washington wanted van Heerden's voice silenced and had threatened LSU's federal grants as a persuader. No indication of any of that in today's story. Just the sense that, where the guts should be in LSU leadership, there lives instead a plentiful supply of Chinese drywall.
UPDATE: Here's a piece from Digital Journal with more information on van Heerden and the LSU-Bush administration pressure on him. You have to scroll down about a third of the way to get to the relevant grafs.
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After Katrina, CNN ran a story on a union electrician, a New Orleans native, who was called to work re-building the city, but subsequently fired and replaced by illegal aliens. I wonder how much of the wiring in Louisiana is as defective as the drywall?
The wiring, the drywall, they're just symptomatic of everything else in America. Shoddy workmanship due to lack of education, lack of pride leading to cutting corners, poor quality from China to save a buck. I weep, as we circle the drain, picking up speed. The Culture War will be the hand that finally pulls the rug out. United we could stand, but we are Divided and we will fall.
I've worked on construction projects in CA, TN, OH, IN, FL, IL, MS, CT, PA, NJ, and mostly NY. And without a doubt, electrical inpsections are THE most stringent of all the trades. In NY, the inspectors are either directly employees of the Underwriters Labratories, The 'UL' label people, or are certified or in otherways acredited by UL. I have never seen: (1) more respect and deference given to any other trade inspectors, and (2) any electrical inspector let anything slide. Electrical work either meets the National Electric Code or no further work proceeds until it is corrected and re-inspected. And these re-inspections are not just a call-and-come thing. A re-inspection can take a week or more depending on the inspector's schedule. So to keep a project moving, it behooves the electrical contractors to get it right the first time.
Unfortunately, with the South overrun by Wal-Mart stores - remember that Wal-Mart buys something like 90% of its products from China - defective drywall is probably everywhere in that part of the country.
If these sorts of things continue much longer, the southeastern United States will be uninhabitable.
Is it habitable now?
The liberal outposts are.
Firing a truth-telling academic for speaking to the media in straightforward terms about issues of accountability for powerful entities?
Standard operating procedure in Louisiana. So what if people will have one less uncompromising advocate in their corner? At least things won't get uncomfortable for the LSU board of regents the next time Ivor shames them into backing truth over political expediency.
Why you should look for that made in China label: Low and bad quality often seems cheaper, but usually is even more expensive than good quality.
Interesting that gypsum produced as a by product of a flu-gas desulfurization process at lots of electric power plants is also used to make drywall. The Chinese will do anything to increase their electrical power output and I wonder if they use too much of this stuff in producing their sheetrock. This may account for the sulfur smells. I've been in construction from laborer to journeyman and an architect for the past 20+ years, and as far as I know USG and other N. American manufacturers get their gypsum from the traditional mining process.
A news report on the gypsum said that the Chinese knowingly used a byproduct from coal which had sulphur content well above the level which was supposed to be used in the drywall, and the sulphur is eroding and corroding and giving off gases.
I got drawn in to architecture/construction by having a grandfather who was an architect & builder for 70+ years. He was a Norwegian immigrant, had nerve deafness & spoke with a very thick accent. My summers were manditorily spent as an apprentice then full mechanic on one of his carpentry crews. Same for his other 3 grandsons. I remember clearly from the mid-'70's forward how he would complain about the inferior quality of " doze chy-neeze nay-ols" And he was right. Those suckers bent over faster than the Prseident in front of the Saudi king. Even 30 years ago the ChiComs couldn't even make a good nail. And that technology has been around for what four maybe five thousand years?
The corrupt system is self sustaining through the threat of extermination of financial existence for all who tell the ugly truth .
Mr Shearer: After Prop 8 passed (and thousands were effectively divorced by plebecite), I emailed you to ask why you wouldn't comment on Prop 8 on your radio show. You told me then that you didn't comment on "local issues". The depriving of a minority group's right by statewide ballot initiative for the first time in the US for 100 years is a local issue?
Well sir, drywall in New Orleans is about as local as you can get. And as dry.
See Harry Shearer's Profile
That comment applied to the radio broadcast. I've been blogging on New Orleans issues here for almost four years.
Yes it did.
Your radio show is very NOLA centric. That's great -- in fact New Orleans rebuilding is an important issue -- except that gay civil rights being taken is an important issue and merit some kind of mention/weight on your show.
I would suggest that the whole handling of Katrina is essentially a civil rights issue for African-American people, but I can't understand the silence on the utter injustice of Prop 8.
Would an exorcism cover toxins in drywall?
Supposedly this product has been around since 2001. if thats the case, there were probably red flags thown prior to it's widespread use. It would be good to know if any regulatory bodies overlooked the obvious and why.
http://www.chinesedrywall.com/
This kinda reminds me of some of our own dumping of defective products on South American countries...the great ENFAMIL sodium free brain damage in a bottle baby formula? EXIDES movement of lead toxic battery plants to central america and Guyanna. Cheaper labor helped, no lawsuits clinched the deals. Asbestos manufacturing,gold mining with mercury,zinc and lead mining all are offshore money makers now...w/o mentioning the non toxics that are covered by just plain old cheap labor and no lawsuits.
Yes, so called "free trade" is really all about our abdication of our sovereign rights as a nation.
Abdication to whom? Elite moneyed interests....
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Jindle has failed to instill in the people of New Orleans a sence of safety from hurricanes. This is a mistake which will result in making it even harder than ever to rebuild New Orleans. People need to feel safe and this firing does not make anyone feel safer. Bad move Governor. How will you ever be considered for higher office when you are destroying the largest city in your state?
Jindle has _zero_ interest in New Orleans - it's his political anathema. That you expect him to do something about - ANYTHING about - New Orleans is surprising!
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Hey Harry,
here is another post from one of Dr. van Heerden's colleagues at lacostpost:
http://lacoastpost.com/blog/?p=6432
Thank you for spotlighting this.
Editilla~New Orleans Ladder
A different issue here but the same principle as Dr. van Heerden's firing by LSU:
Because of the Bush Admin., and/or Pentagon pressure on BYU, Steven Jones agreed to retire from BYU because of his published research on Thermate in the dust from Twin Towers. (see past article)
www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,650200587,00.html I hope to God that, with the Spanish Judges, along with public sentiment, we can prosecute Bush, Cheney, some handful of others who were complicit in their dark deeds.
Thanks for posting...
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Don't worry: the people that actually manufactured this product on the production floors in Mainland China will immigrate to the US in years to come under family-reunion visas (or illegally via Mexico and Canada), and will be sponsored by the Tort Attorneys for their homeland-factory-induced Gypsum and fiber lung disorders on late night TV commercials once the asbestos fund is dry (walled); money to be obtained from their evil American overlord
This reminds me of a story I read a couple yrars ago.
The Chinese were shipping plywood to the US which contained toxicity in the glue.
The plywood was used for toys and counter tops.
The plywood was banned in Japan and, I believe, also the EU.
It was also banned in CHINA.
Its not just new orleans.. We got it by the truck loads in Cape Coral.... they say no health hazard...lol.. It has so much sulfer that in the humid air it becomes so acidic that the metal in the a/c units corrodes and the a/c has to be replaced... but not your lungs..lol..
You have to replace the drywall... more quality products from China
Regards
Southeast Florida too. That's beyond amazing. The fumes have tarnished silver and blackened copper pipes, but it's safe to breathe.
Also have it in Orlando Fl.
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