About 250 homeowners whose homes have defective Chinese drywall Monday night pleaded for state and federal government agencies to come up with a protocol to fix the problem so they can rebuild their lives and spare their health.

They also sought relief from the Lee County property appraiser for the sinking value of their homes.

Residents came from all over Lee County to a meeting in the Cape Coral library. Their homes were built by a variety of builders, but one thing is the same: They are all grappling with trauma to their lives caused by tainted drywall.

They didn’t get definitive answers because there are none. But it was clear their impatience is growing.

“When is the protocol going to come out?” asked Chris Ceorge of Cape Coral. “I don’t have a year to wait. At stake is my future financially and my health.”

There is no empirical evidence yet as to what is successful remediation of the drywall, said David Krause toxicologist for the state Health Department.

The state is seeking guidance from the Florida Incident Management Team Task Force on Chinese Drywall.

However, no state entity has the power to enforce guidelines, Krause said.

“That will probably have to come out of the governor’s office,” Krause said.

The meeting was initially called by a group of Aranda homeowners who decided to take action rather than keep stewing about what they say is inaction by building company owner John J. Conti to address the drywall problem.

The meeting was opened to the public when Aranda homeowner Richard Kampf, who organized the session, was inundated with calls from residents with homes built by other builders.

The seat on the panel dais saved for Conti, the president of Aranda Homes, remained empty.

But Louise Maloy said she and her husband Jack were told by an Aranda representative that the builder would take care of its clients who had the drywall “100 percent.” It is unclear how many homes that is.

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