Author Archives: admin

As huge numbers of foreclosed homes continue to work their way through the real estate pipeline, another problem is blossoming — mold. In most homes, as residents go in and out and the seasons change, natural ventilation sucks moisture up to the attic and out through the roof. It’s called the “stack effect.” And in many […]

Not too long ago, many mass-market furniture makers weren’t all that interested in the no-formaldehyde-added wood that Todd Vogelsinger was trying to sell them from Columbia Forest Products.  After all, consumers and regulators weren’t exactly demanding that furniture be formaldehyde-free.That’s about to change.A law signed this month by President Barack Obama limiting the amount of […]

A Florida couple who fled their dream home because of foul-smelling, ruinous Chinese drywall was awarded $2.4 million in damages Friday in the nation’s first jury trial over the defective wallboard that could have legal ramifications for thousands of similar cases.  The six-person jury ruled that Armin and Lisa Seifart should receive more than just […]

 If walls could talk, the ones in your new home might say “thank you.” Especially if they are sulfur-oozing, health-hazardous ones manufactured in China.In a move to quell the controversy over homes built with defective drywall, Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co., a German-owned exporter of the Chinese-made product, has reached a settlement with Atlanta-based builder Beazer […]

More than two million Chinese youths die each year from health problems related to indoor air pollution, with nearly half of them under five years of age, state media cited a government study as saying.The study released by the China Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said indoor pollution levels can often be 5-10 times […]

As a chemical scientist and a manufacturer of Specialty Chemicals  we are very disappointed in the dollars saving design the industry employed. The catastrophic explosion that caused an oil spill from a BP offshore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico is on track to become the worst oil spill in history, surpassing the damage done […]

Health and law enforcement officials across the country are becoming increasingly alarmed at the number of homes being sold that were once used as meth houses or laboratories. The problem developing is that former homes where meth was either used or manufactured are in fact health hazards to anyone currently residing in them due to […]

Chinese drywall problems in Parkland could soon lead to even lower property values for homes in the city. The Broward Property Appraiser’s Office has received applications for property value reduction from 115 homeowners in Parkland dealing with Chinese drywall. If all the homeowners get the reduction they are looking for — 89 have already had […]

The acrid odor from behind their walls at times made them sick, and something seemed to be etching their chandeliers, piping and jewelry. Cynthia Scott said she suffered nosebleeds while pregnant with her son, now 2, who had to be rushed to the emergency room twice during coughing fits. Everyone in the family of five, […]

(April 22) — A potentially life-threatening new type of fungus has been discovered in Oregon, and experts are warning that it could soon spread into neighboring regions. The pathogen is a strain of Cryptococcus gattii — C. gattii for short — and appears to have a death rate of around 25 percent among those infected, […]