We’ve been hearing about faulty drywall from China for quite awhile now. While most reports are coming from the southeast United States, more and more cases in Washington State are being reported. At the height of the housing boom, materials were often in short supply. Hence, American construction companies used millions of pounds of readily available and cost effective Chinese-made drywall. It is estimated that more than 540 million pounds of plasterboard (drywall and ceiling tile panels) were imported from China between 2004 and 2008, primarily through Long Beach, California, and Seattle, and has been used in over 100,000 homes.
The defective drywall is made with a coal byproduct, fly ash, and gives off “rotten egg” fumes that can corrode copper pipes, blacken jewelry and silverware, and possibly sicken people. Symptoms include burning eyes, sinus headaches, and a general heaviness in the chest. This grows worse with heat and humidity so homes in drier climates may not see – and smell – problems for years to come.
There has been legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Robert Wexler (FL) with similar legislation proposed in the Senate calling for a temporary ban on Chinese made imports until more is known. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is investigating, as is the Washington State Health Department.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has set up a Website for more information or to file a report: http://www.cpsc.gov/info/drywall/index.html.
~Source: U.S. News & World Report