Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA (1888PressRelease)
August 06, 2009 - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has received more than 550 reports in recent months from people in 19 states and the District of Columbia involving health symptoms, odors and corrosion problems. These complaints all point to imported Chinese drywall. The reports involve “rotten egg” smells and corrosion of wiring and other metals in the homes. U.S. officials are still trying to assess the issue and have sought the expertise and opinions of various toxicologists and environmental medical experts.
A toxicologist, hired by lawyers for some of the homeowners, says tests indicate they are being exposed to a variety of chemicals, including carbon disulfide, sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide.
At the request of Michael Corkery reporter from the Wall Street Journal, Dr. Nachman Brautbar, a toxicologist and clinical professor emeritus at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, and Morton Lippmann, a professor of environmental medicine at New York University, reviewed a recent data prepared by the plaintiffs’ expert. Drs. Brautbar and Lippmann are not involved in the litigation, but were asked to comment on the data. Both experts agreed that the chemical emissions reported could cause health problems but said it depends on the intensity and duration of exposure. “There’s a big difference between possible and probable,” Dr. Brautbar said.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says most of the complaints have come from Florida, where the concerns emerged last year. But consumers also have filed complaints in Alabama, Arizona, California, Ohio, Louisiana, Mississippi, Virginia, Wisconsin, Washington, Wyoming, and Tennessee.
Nachman Brautbar is a board-certified internist and nephrologist, with a specialization in toxicology. He has served as an expert for both plaintiffs and defendants, among those the famous Hinkley case involving Erin Brochovich. His extensive list of professional credentials make him a highly sought after medical expert witness, physician, speaker, and author. View his summary of credentials or request his curriculum by visiting www.environmentaldiseases.com.
Dr. Brautbar also specializes in internal medicine aspects of injury in the workplace, product liability, personal injury, and standard of care. He has published 240 journal manuscripts, abstracts and book chapters in the fields of internal medicine, nephrology, and toxicology.
His list of past and present academic appointments includes: Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Southern California, School of Medicine.
For more information on Dr. Nachman Brautbar, please visit www.environmentaldiseases.com or call (323) 634-6500.
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