【英语中国】中国输美干墙早在2006年已发现问题

Chinese manufacturer Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co., or KPT, knew of defects in its drywall as far back as 2006, yet thousands of homes were still built using the wall board, forcing thousands of homeowners to endure a rotten-egg odor and corroded wiring, according to email communications recently made public.

'Of course I am aware of big problems with Knauf boards from China,' wrote Hans-Ulrich Hummel, head of R&D for Knauf Gips KG, the drywall manufacturer's German parent company, in a November 2006 email. (Read the emails.)

Kerry Miller, a Frilot LLC lawyer representing KPT, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The email messages released by the offices of Victor Diaz, a lawyer who represents 152 aggrieved homeowners in a class action lawsuit in a Florida court, show officials at every level of the supply chain expressing dismay and concern over the defective drywall.

In October of 2006, an employee of Banner Supply, the American supplier of the faulty product, wrote: 'PLEASE NOTIFY KNAUFF [sic] THAT WE HAVE A PROBLEM WITH A VERY BAD SMELL COMMING [sic] FROM THERE [sic] BOARD.' Banner couldn't be reached for comment.

In subsequent email exchanges, officials from Knauf Gips KG (the parent company), KPT (the Chinese manufacturer), La Suprema Enterprise Inc. (the South Florida-based importer of the drywall), Rothschild International (the product's Taiwanese exporter), Banner, United State Gypsum Co. (a company related to KPT), and others all weigh in on the problem. In one email, the president of Beta Drywall LLC, an installer, informs his suppliers, including Banner, that his company will no longer accept Chinese-made wallboard products.

In early November, USG, the nation's largest distributor of drywall, was alerted that 'every day is getting nastier, hopefully it is nothing but I need a representative from Knauff [sic] to contact me ASAP.'

It turned out to be something big. Nearly 3,300 home owners have complained about the problematic product, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission's Drywall Information Center. Thousands of homeowners, largely in Florida, Louisiana and Virginia, have complained that the drywall emits a rotten-egg odor, corrodes wiring and ruins appliances.

Mr. Diaz, in an interview Wednesday, said that nationwide, the number of homeowners making claims is more like 6,000.

'So the question is, why is it that this information, that was known in the fall in 2006, was not disseminated to the public, to consumers who were noticing these smells?' Mr. Diaz said. 'Nevermind what you did or didn't do importing boards from China…once you're placed on notice, why didn't you put your consumers on notice once you had put it into the stream of commerce? The economic consequence of this case is that if the Chinese and the Germans do not have to stand behind this product, then the companies who have to foot the bill are going to be U.S. corporations and their insurers.'

In a story released this weekend, ProPublica teamed with the Sarasota Herald-Tribune to show that builder 'WCI Communities was so concerned that it started planning to tear out the material and rebuild the houses. But it never disclosed the problem to the bulk of its customers or to government authorities.'

近期公布于众的往来电邮表明，中国可耐福石膏板(天津)有限公司(Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin)早在2006年即已知道其生产的干墙存在缺陷，但此后数千家庭仍使用这种干墙板修建，导致数千房主遭受臭鸡蛋气味及电线受蚀的痛苦。

可耐福石膏板(天津)有限公司的德国母公司可耐福（Knauf Gips KG）的研发负责人赫梅尔(Hans-Ulrich Hummel)在2006年11月的一封邮件中说，他当然清楚中国生产的可耐福干墙板存在大问题。

代表可耐福的新奥尔良律师事务所Frilot LLC的律师米勒(Kerry Miller)未及时回应置评要求。

这些邮件是佛罗里达州152户受影响房主集体讼诉案的代理律师迪亚兹(Victor Diaz)公布的，邮件显示，供应链的各级管理人员对问题干墙表示惊愕与担忧。

2006年10月，这种缺陷产品的美国供应商Banner Supply公司的一名雇员在邮件中写道，请告知可耐福，其墙板有问题，散发出很难闻的气味。记者无法联络该公司对此置评。

在接下来的往来邮件中，可耐福德国公司、可耐福天津公司、这种干墙产品的南佛罗里达州进口商La Suprema Enterprise Inc.、该产品的台湾出口商洛希尔(Rothschild International)、Banner、与可耐福天津公司相关的美国United State Gypsum Co.以及其它公司都提出过这一问题。安装公司Beta Drywall LLC总裁在一封邮件中通知包括Banner在内的供应商，说他的公司不再接受中国产干墙产品。

11月初，美国最大的干墙经销商USG接到警告称，“情况日益糟糕，希望不要出问题，但需要可耐福派代表尽快与我联系”。

事态发展成了大问题。根据美国消费者商品安全委员会(Consumer Product Safety Commission)干墙信息中心的数据，近3,300户家庭对这种问题产品提起投诉。数千个房主，大部分在佛罗里达州、路易斯安那州及弗吉尼亚州，投诉干墙发出一种臭鸡蛋的气味，并腐蚀电线及家用电器。

迪亚兹在周三一个采访中说，全国就该产品进行投诉的房主很可能达六千人。

迪亚兹说，问题是为何2006年秋就已获知的信息未向公众及已注意到这种味道的消费者发布。不管你有无从中国进口干墙，既然你获得了通知，为何不在引入该产品的同时告知你的客户？这一案件的经济后果是，如果中国人及德国人不必为这种产品负责，那么必须为此买单将是美国企业及其保险商。

上周末，新闻网站ProPublica与佛罗里达州萨拉索塔市的《先驱论坛报》(Herald-Tribune)合作发文称，建筑商WCI Communities公司对此非常关切，并已开始计划拆除这种材料重建房屋。但该公司从未向其大部分客户或政府当局披露此问题。