Jury’s Still Out on Chinese Drywall Injuries, U.S. Says
Drywall imported from China and installed in thousands of homes in South Florida and across the United States is emitting sulfur gases at a higher-than-normal rate, blackening and eroding metal wiring, air conditioning coils, and other components, a federal government report released today said.
However, more work is needed to determine whether the same toxic gasses are causing residents of homes outfitted with Chinese drywall to suffer respiratory problems, bloody noses, headaches, and other serious health complications, officials said.
The preliminary findings from the government study led by the Consumer Product Safety Commission mark the latest chapter in a saga that emerged earlier this year. As many as 10 million square feet of the defective building materials shipped from China were installed in U.S. homes during the nation’s building boom from 2004 to 2006.
The CPSC has received about 1,897 reports from residents in 30 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico who say Chinese drywall in their homes has caused them to suffer health symptoms or the corrosion of certain metal components in their residences. State and local authorities have also received similar reports, the CPSC said.
Costly Fix to Chinese Drywall Problems
In many cases, the only way to fix the problem is for the residents of the affected home to move out and tear out all the defective Chinese drywall. Of course, this is an extremely costly, time-consuming, and inconvenient process for those involved.
It is suspected that imperfections and contamination of the materials mined in China are reacting negatively with the high Florida humidity, causing the release of chemical compounds including iron disulfide, hydrogen sulfide, carbonyl sulfide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon disulfide.
Chinese Drywall Lawsuits, Complaints Still Streaming In
The first of hundreds of lawsuits filed by home owners who say they and their properties are victims of defective Chinese drywall will begin early next year, a federal judge recently ruled.
Federal authorities are also due soon to release the results of air testing of some homes in Florida and Louisiana, which could shed more light on the extent of Chinese drywall problems.
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