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Chinese Drywall
INFO
Environmental Pollution
EXPOSURE

Toxic Chinese Drywall

Toxic Chinese drywalls may have been used in ten to hundreds of thousands of homes and condominiums built or remodeled after 2000. They are home building materials which emit toxic fumes (mainly sulfur gases) of bad odor (rotten-egg like) that may affect the health of homeowners and corrode copper wires triggering the dysfunction of electronic equipment throughout the home. The emitted toxic fumes cannot be seen but they are usually perceived by smell due to a persistent unpleasant odor. Toxic Chinese drywalls are also referred to as defective Chinese drywalls. Their toxicity may be manifesting just in specific conditions. Toxic Chinese drywalls are influenced by a series of factors, among which, temperature and humidity seem to be the prevalent ones. The potential for a very large number of homeowners to become victims of Chinese toxic drywall is therefore high.

General Background

Essentially, a drywall consists of a gypsum plaster pressed between two thick sheets of paper. Drywalls may also be referred to as wallboards, plasterboards, or boards. The drywalls come in sheets of various widths and lengths. Drywalls provide fire resistance, heat resistance, and sound isolation. They are usually 1.5 inches think but could be thicker (for improved resistance and insulation). Various specific thickness has been reported from drywalls used in Florida (read more here). The drywalls are easy to install and in some cases they may be attached to walls with adhesive. Any building material and adhesives that are in the closed vicinity of the drywall may influence the appearance and severity of off-gassing. The drywall itself has certain chemical composition (gypsum being the main compound with a series of trace elements). The various chemical ingredients of imported drywall may be toxic, but are not regulated and may vary from drywall to drywall (including metals, organic compounds and minerals). The drywall physical or mechanical characteristics and strength also vary and were reported to be quite inconsistent between various batches of toxic Chinese drywalls. Such characteristics could influence the off-gassing (emissions of toxic gases) from toxic Chinese drywalls. Environmental factors may also influence the off-gassing from toxic Chinese drywalls. They are any the external factors which may influence the appearance and severity of defects (e.g., toxicity). This include: humidity and temperature as main influencing factors (the higher they are, the higher the ability to exacerbate toxins such as sulfur gases from defective Chinese drywalls). However, other factors such as the air ventilation and quality within a home may also play a role.

Chinese Drywall Toxic Identification

Identification of toxic Chinese drywall is not straightforward. This is because the toxicity of the drywall could be associated with one or more of the following:

  • Chemical composition of the drywall
  • Physical/mechanical characteristics of the drywall
  • Any building materials and/or adhesives in direct contact or in near proximity of the drywall
  • Temperature and humidity
  • Air ventilation within the home
  • Air quality within the home
  • Other external factors specific to each home.

All the characteristics of the drywalls were already proven different between non-defective U.S. drywalls and defective Chinese drywalls. As for external factors, temperature and humidity were proven to have a major influence on drywall potential to become defective. This explains why most defective Chinese drywalls were in fact reported in Florida and Louisiana, states with high temperature and humidity.

All such characteristics need to be checked for or tested for a reliable identification of toxic Chinese drywalls.

How Do You Know If You Have Toxic Drywall?

The first and easier thing to check is the year when the home was built or remodeled last. If any of these happened after 2000, then a risk to have toxic Chinese drywall exist. Read more of various tests you can do yourself to evaluate if you have toxic Chinese drywall

To date, the regulatory agencies and scientific community are conducting studies and testing in order to figure out what exact causes the problem and what are the expected health effects. Studies coordinated by CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Committee) will target in-depth investigation of various factors within a home (CPSC, 2009) and their effect on off-gassing and other negative effects observed for Chinese drywall. Americas Watchdog organization has sent an urgent appeal to homeowners from all U.S. States living in a home or condominium built or remodeled in the 2000’s to check for the known effects of the Chinese toxic drywall being aware of the potential risk. If you believe to be at risk, you need to consult with a lawyer for compensation options – usually involving lawsuits (since most home insurance policies would not cover any pollution damage). If this is the case, you are also welcome to contact us for a free consultation.

Chinese Drywall How to Remediate

If testing confirms that you have toxic Chinese drywall, there are few options for remediation of the problem other than the removal of the toxic Chinese drywall itself. This is generally quite expensive and may involve moving from the home during the removal work. Therefore, consultation with an environmental lawyer for compensation alternatives is desirable.

Reference Cited
CPSC. 2009. CPSC Investigation of Imported Drywall Status Report, July 2009.