A building inspections expert says Chinese drywall contains some pretty nasty contaminants.  What’s more,  Spiderman S. Mulholland, owner of U.S. Building Consultants Inc. in Gainesville, Florida, says those contaminants could be making people living in homes with Chinese drywall sick. Mulholland and his team have spent 20,000 hours and about $500,000 testing Chinese drywall.

According to a report on the Broward-Palm Beach New Times Web site,  Mulholland presented findings on his own tests of Chinese drywall at an Orlando conference for homeowners that was held over the weekend.   Mulholland told attendees that his tests of  five samples of Chinese drywall found evidence of fungi and bacteria in all five. One sample also included fecal matter,  but it is not clear if that contamination originated with  the manufacturer or installer. (more…)

On Friday, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) reported that a third Rituxan patient has developed a serious and often fatal brain infection called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML).

PML is a viral infection that affects the white matter of the brain. Patients with PML exhibit neurological symptoms like confusion, dizziness or loss of balance, difficulty talking or walking, and vision problems. PML gets worse over time, and is usually fatal. There is no treatment or cure for the disease. It is often associated with drugs that suppress the immune system.

On Friday, the FDA said this newest PML case is the first time the disease has been reported in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis  treated with Rituxan who has not previously received treatment with a TNF antagonist. According to a “Dear Healthcare Provider” letter issued by Genentech, the third Rituxan PML case occurred in a 73-year old woman with a diagnosis of seronegative rheumatoid arthritis of 3 years who had received a course of Rituxan in February 2009.  The letter did not say whether the woman was still alive, but two other PML victims who had taken Rituxan have died. (more…)

The head of the Consumer Products Safety Commission has appealed to China to do “what is fair and just” to help U.S. homeowners dealing with defective Chinese drywall.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Inez Tenenbaum made the plea while attending the U.S.-China product safety summit that was held in Beijing beginning Thursday. During the summit, Tenenbaum and her counterpart with the Chinese General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine signed a joint statement in which the two sides agreed to continue to cooperate in their investigations into the drywall problems. (more…)

Federal agents are combing through the Caribbean Petroleum Corp. storage facility outside San Juan, Puerto Rico to determine what set off Friday’s massive explosion and fire.  The blaze at the facility was finally extinguished yesterday.

At least 60 agents from the  FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are at the blast site, and it is being treated as a crime scene.  As we reported previously, the site is being treated as a crime scene.  Such concerns were raised on Friday after graffiti with the message “Boom, fire, RIP, Gulf” was found scrawled inside a highway tunnel in San Juan.  According to the New York Times, similar messages were found at two other sites in and around the city. (more…)

People living near the Caribbean Petroleum Corp. gasoline warehouse and distribution center in Catano, Puerto Rico, near San Juan, are being evacuated following an explosion there.

The explosion occurred around 12:30 a.m.  According to the Associated Press, 11 of more than 30 storage tanks at the facility had exploded.  Several columns of black smoke and flames could be seen rising from the facility from several miles away.  The explosion also tore up a nearby highway.   (more…)

Consumers are being warned today about some scary Halloween candle holders being recalled because of a fire hazard.

This recall involves about 7,800 Haunted House Candle Holders made  Coyne’s & Company, of Minneapolis, Minn.  The candle holders are made of black metal with a transparent coating on the glass windows. The haunted house measures 15-inches wide by 15-inches high by 4-inches deep and can hold up to six tea lights. Tea light candles are not involved in this recall.  They were sold at Yankee Candle stores nationwide and online at YankeeCandle.com between August 2009 and September 2009 for about $25. (more…)

The Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA)  approved a $5 million compensation program for victims of drywall  Chinese drywall in that state.  However, the LRA is waiting on some answers from federal authorities before it launches the program.

The LRA was established in 2005 following hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and provided funds to residents for rebuilding. Earlier this summer, the Louisiana legislature had mandated that the LRA create a $5 million initiative to help drywall victims.  In September, the LRA set aside that amount of federal Community Development Block Grant disaster recovery money to compensate hurricane victims whose homes were built with Chinese drywall. (more…)

The mother of an Ortho Evra birth control patch user is calling for the drug to be removed from the market, following her daughter’s sudden death from a pulmonary embolism.

Adrianna Niedner, 17,  had just begun her freshman year at Trinity College when she collapsed in her dorm room.  According to the Boston Globe, Leslie Niedner began to suspect that Ortho Evra played a role in her daughter’s death when someone asked if Adrianna had used it.  An internet search quickly revealed dozens of similar stories.  Leslie is now convinced that Ortho Evra caused the blood clot that killed her daughter.  (more…)

Ketorolac Tromethamine Injection USP 30 mg/mL is being recalled by American Regent Inc. because of potential particulate contamination.

According to the recall notice, administering the contaminated Ketorolac Tromethamine Injections could lead to the obstruction of blood vessels which can induce pulmonary emboli or thrombosis, activate platelets and/or neutrophils to induce anaphylactic reactions. Other adverse effects associated with the injection of particulate matter include foreign body granulomas, and local irritation at the injection site. (more…)

Answers about a possible cancer cluster in a Florida community called The Acreage are proving elusive.

On Monday evening, Florida State Rep. Carl Domino, R-Juno Beach, hosted a meeting for residents of The Acreage so that they could question the epidemiologist leading the state Department of Health investigation into the possible cluster.  Many attendees were unhappy that an investigator from the Florida Department of Health was unable to provide much more information beyond what they already knew. (more…)