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Chinese Drywall Hazard

Problematic Chinese products are in the news again. This time its cheap drywall that was used in a lot of houses in the US since Katrina. I first heard about this on CNN yesterday.

Apparently the drywall is giving off sulphur emissions. This gypsum is not intensely processed or purified in the manufacturing process, so it looks like the source mine the gypsum came from was simply problematic and probably shouldn't have been used because of the sulphur compounds it contained.

Since the problem came to light there have been numerous tests of the material and so far they haven't been able to establish any active healh risks from it. Having a house that smells like rotten eggs is apparently not a health risk. Does this remind anyone of the problem with formaldehyde in the FEMA trailers after Katrina. The official response to that issue was that people should open their windows and they stuck to it long after chemical levels were shown to be away beyond safe standards.

The stink of this drywall is bad enough, but, in some places there are real safety issues. In Florida, some comination of heat and moisture interacting with the gas given off by the drywall is causing appliances, especially air conditioners, to break down. Long term, everything electrical is at risk. Based on what I know about chemistry I would guess that the emitted sulphur compounds are mixing with the moist air and turning into sulfuric acid. The acidic atmosphere is attacking wiring. Air conditioners are first to go because their job is to circulate all the air, so there is more exposure.

The plants in China that produced the gyproc have switched to another mine for their gypsum. Apparently the Chinese got their foot in the drywall door after Katrina. There was so much building going on that the normal sources builders used couldn't keep up with demand. Now there are thousands of houses that need to have the drywall stripped out and replaced.

Is there some way this problem could have been averted? In fairness to the Chinese, this doesn't seem to be a case of willfull negligence or deception like the melamine contamination. The problem only comes to light under the unique conditions in Florida and it is doubtful that it was even detectable at the time of manufacture. Still, its one more strike against Chinese imports and it comes at a time when a lot of people are becoming sort of protectionist because of the economy, so it is not good news for Chinese exporters.

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