We have all heard in the news about the potential dangers from imported Chinese drywall.  These concerns arose following a large increase in the use of Chinese drywall during the building boom a few years ago (2005 – 2007) and re-building efforts following the devastation from hurricane Katrina in the southeast United States. 

The New York Times reported on October 30, 2009 that it is estimated that over 7 million sheets of Chinese drywall were imported as domestic supplies ran short.  A majority of complaints have been from homes built in 2006 and 2007 in Florida, Louisiana and Virginia where residents suffered the greatest hurricane-related damage.  However, it is not known how much imported drywall may have found its way to other areas of the country. In fact, some reports suggest that large amounts of the suspect imported drywall remain in warehouses across the country.  All warehouses with known supplies have been banned from selling the material pending further testing. 

It is believed that sulfur and strontium compounds that may have been used in the manufacturing process, are related to the noxious odor and health complaints.  The United State Environmental Protections Agency (EPA) and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC) have begun scientific studies, including comparing the elemental structures of Chinese and American manufactured drywall.  Preliminary results (based on a small number of samples) determined that:

-          Sulfur was detected at 83 parts per million (ppm) and 119 ppm in Chinese drywall samples.  No sulfur e was detected in US manufactured drywall.

-          Strontium was detected at 2,570 ppm and 2,670 ppm in the Chinese drywall.  US manufactured drywall had 244 and 1,130 ppm.

-          EPA’s analysis showed the presence of two organic compounds in the Chinese drywall that are associated with acrylic paints.  These compounds were not detected in the US manufactured drywall samples.

The significance of the findings has not been fully analyzed.  EPA is currently working with other scientific and regulatory agencies to develop a sampling protocol for impacted homes and to further analyze the significance of these preliminary findings. 

Studies have not yet specifically linked the chemicals found to health, odor, and building material corrosion complaints.

In a news report from CBS news on November 23, 2009, it is reported that the CSPC has made a “strong association” between Chinese-made drywall and the corrosion of copper pipes and wires.  CSPC also reported that a small percentage of problems may also involve American produced drywall.  Initial findings are not conclusive since the sulfur compounds found in the American drywall were at much lower concentrations that the Chinese product and low levels of certain sulfur compounds are commonly found in a large number of environmental and manufactured materials.

Further technical information should be available in the coming months.  Feel free to call or e-mail GSE for updates.  GSE is currently exploring sampling methodologies to allow testing of homes with odors that are suspected of involving contaminated drywall.