U.S. Report Finds Defective Chinese Drywall Emitting Gasses in Homes

A new report from the Consumer Product Safety Commission says there is a “strong association” between Chinese drywall and elevated levels of hydrogen sulfide and metals, officials said Monday.

For almost a year now, homeowners in South Florida and other areas have been blaming property damage and health complications on cheap, defective drywall made in China and installed in their homes. A foul, “rotten eggs” odor has forced some owners to move out after suffering headaches, difficulty breathing, and other problems.

The new findings from a government study linking the defective building materials to chemical levels is the smoking gun needed to begin work by a government task force to formally identify and compensate affected homeowners, according to officials quoted in a report in The Wall Street Journal.

“We now have the science that enables the Task Force to move ahead to the next phase to develop both a screening process and effective remediation methods,” said CPSC chairman Inez Tenenbaum in a statement Monday morning. “Ongoing studies will examine health and safety effects, but we are now ready to get to work fixing this problem.”

Last month, the CPSC released a study that found Chinese drywall emitted higher concentrations of sulfur gases and strontium than products made in the U.S., but did not find the emissions were to blame for consumer complaints of health problems and metal corrosion, according to the Journal report.

Officials handpicked 51 homes for the initial study, which found a link between Chinese drywall and sulfur and other gasses blamed for corroding wiring on air conditioning units and causing other property damage in homes outfitted with the faulty building materials.

The CPSC recently said it has received complaints about Chinese drywall problems from more than 2,000 homeowners from 32 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, making the continuing probe one of the largest consumer product investigations in U.S. history.

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