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Chinese Drywall
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Environmental Pollution
EXPOSURE

Lennar Chinese Drywall

While major home improvement chains such as Home Depot did not seem to have had commercialized China made drywall, various homebuilders were reported to have bought it in bulk and used the toxic Chinese drywall in homes potentially all throughout the U.S. and in Canada. This was due to the shortage in domestic drywall products and supplies after hurricane Katrina and due to the house boom of the 2000’s. Thus, it is in the 2000s when massive amounts of Chinese drywall supplies were introduced in the country. Miami-based homebuilder Lennar Corp. has used imported drywall. Lennar Chinese drywalls (as generically referred in this article) are thus drywalls used by Lennar in the homes it built. There have been cases with defective Lennar Chinese drywalls reported. Such defective Lennar Chinese drywalls were observed to:

  • emit potentially toxic sulfur gasses which:
    • have a persistent rotten-egg odor
    • may pose a toxic hazard to homeowners, and
    • corrode copper wires resulting in the failure of air conditioning coils and other home electronic equipment repeatedly.
  • may be subjected to weathering with a risk of collapsing (yet unproven)

Defective Lennar Chinese drywall observed in homes built by Lennar seems to be linked to the gypsum from a certain mine pit in China (LuNeng mine in the ShanDong province) (CPSC, 2009). At the same time, brands like Knauf and Taishan Gypsum seem to have been associated with defective Lennar Chinese drywall and U.S. imported Chinese drywalls in general (although Taishan Gypsum claims it did not export drywall into the U.S.). Other brands of China made drywall that could have originated in the same mine pit for raw materials, could also be associated with defective drywalls found within a home.

Lennar is facing lawsuits from homeowners and may recover costs from the Chinese manufacturers (e.g., Knauf and possibly Taishan Gypsum). This is why it is important to be able to reliably identify the manufacturer for each individual drywall within a home. However, what complicates the straightforward identification of drywall brand and even its Chinese origin is the fact that drywalls without labeling were reported, while re-labeling could have occurred, too. Finally, it is the forensic testing that may shed some light.

Brands of Potentially Defective Chinese Drywall

Knauf group operates about 150 factories worldwide, including three in China which seem to be part of the Chinese manufacturers of defective drywalls. Knauf drywalls were reported darker in color probably due to the content of higher organic material than other drywalls – and this could be a distinguishable trait. The organic material from Chinese drywall (possibly applying to Lennar Chinese drywall, too) was identified as invertebrate fecal pellets (Rosen, 2009).

While new cases are reported in many U.S. States, some legislative measures have already been taken related to the recall of the defective Chinese drywall materials (including Lennar Chinese drywalls). For example, in March 2009, U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson, D-Fla and Mary Landrieu, D-La have proposed legislation asking for a recall and immediate ban on tainted building products from China. That may very well include Lennar

Chinese drywall materials.

At this stage, there is still so much unknown that it is hard to say how many of Lennar homes may be affected or potentially affected by Lennar Chinese drywall and how many more homes built by other builders are at risk. More testing and the evolution of analytical techniques will enable better understanding and identification of the problem and its exact source. Forensic testing will play a crucial role and may include testing such as chemical, isotopic and mineralogical fingerprinting (in order to link effects to potentially defective Lennar Chinese drywall). Such techniques may be employed for Lennar Chinese drywalls in order to evaluate negative effects and causality. If you live in a home built by Lennar in the 2000’s and have identified one or more of the main effects associated with defective Lennar Chinese drywall, you should seek compensation by consulting with an environmental lawyer and being part of a lawsuit (possibly class-action). You are also welcome to contact environmental pollution centers for a free consultation.

References Cited
CPSC. 2009. CPSC Investigation of Imported Drywall Status Report, July 2009.
Rosen, G. 2009. Chinese Drywall Q & A Ver 3.0 Health Allert