Federal studies released Thursday cannot yet definitively link imported Chinese drywall to health problems or corrosion of pipes and wires that thousands of U.S. homeowners have been reporting for nearly a year.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is leading the multi-agency investigation, said it needs to further study the matter before it can consider a recall, ban or other solutions to help affected homeowners. Additional results from ongoing studies were due to be released next month.
Reports say that the Chinese drywall in homes are making people sick and ruining the house. Thousands of homeowners who bought new houses built with the potentially defective materials are finding their lives in limbo as the lawsuits against builders, contractors, suppliers and manufacturers wind through the courts.
During the height of the U.S. housing boom, with building materials in short supply, American construction companies imported millions of pounds (kilograms) of Chinese-made drywall because it was abundant and cheap. An Associated Press analysis of shipping records found that more than 500 million pounds (226 million kilograms) of Chinese gypsum board was imported between 2004 and 2008 — enough to have built tens of thousands of homes.
The defective materials have since been found by state and federal agencies to emit “volatile sulfur compounds.” Officials have also found traces of strontium sulfide, which can produce a rotten-egg odor, along with organic compounds not found in American-made drywall. Homeowners complain the fumes are corroding copper pipes, destroying TVs and air conditioners, blackening jewelry and silverware, and making them sick.
And some homeowners are reporting that their insurance companies are dropping or refusing to renew their policies based on the presence of the wallboard in their houses, putting them at risk of foreclosure.
The federal test results released Thursday largely confirmed what prior testing had found. The multiple agencies investigating, including the CPSC, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, acknowledged the reported health symptoms are consistent with some sort of contamination. But the culprit is unclear.
The Chinese government is assisting with the investigation.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2009-10-29-chinese-drywall-reports_N.htm
Tags: chinese drywall
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