Gov. Dannel P. Malloy recently announced he has submitted a request to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) asking the agency to establish an office in northeastern Connecticut to assess the damage of homes with crumbing concrete foundations that are at risk of collapsing.
Malloy requested that that FEMA determine the extent and impact of the approximately 34,130 affected homes in the area, in what the state believes is the result of a natural disaster, according to its investigation.
“In April 2016, the lieutenant governor and I directed the Connecticut Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security (DEMHS) to contact FEMA Region 1 to investigate what assistance the agency could provide these homeowners,” Malloy said in a statement. “The informal response we received back in an email from the FEMA Regional Administrator was that the crumbling foundation issue did not appear to constitute an emergency or major disaster. Instead, it was suggested that it might be a consumer product defect or construction safety issue, similar in nature to the 2010 Chinese drywall issue in Florida, which resulted in corroded copper and affected air-conditioning and heating units, but was not considered by FEMA to be an emergency or major disaster.
Since that time of our informal request to FEMA Region 1, we have further scientific information that this potentially catastrophic damage appears to be the result of a natural disaster – specifically the reaction of a naturally occurring mineral, pyrrhotite, to oxygen and water. Pyrrhotite is an iron sulfide mineral, thus exposure to oxygen and water leads to a chemical reaction which results in deterioration, and disastrous results for a home foundation.”
There are no state or national building standards that regulate the percentage of pyrrhotite allowed in aggregate used for residential or commercial foundations. Malloy argues that this mineral, when exposed to water, is so damaging that it should have not ever been considered for use in residential foundations. Because these building standards do not exist, this problem could easily cost anywhere between $100 million and $1 billion to fully remediate, according to a statement from Malloy.
“While none of us can fully grasp the full weight this disaster has placed upon these homeowners, it is vital that we all come together to assist them,” Malloy wrote to FEMA.
