Contaminated Chinese Drywall Test Results Due This Week

Federal investigators are expected to release the results of initial tests on contaminated Chinese drywall this week, which compare Chinese and U.S. – manufactured drywall to delineate the differences and, if possible, determine what substances within the Drywall from China are causing the release of sulfuric odors, corroding wiring and causing reported health problems for homeowners.

The tests were conducted by the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC), which has been working with the Chinese government in their ongoing investigation.

Millions of sheets of toxic drywall were imported from China into the United States between 2004 and 2007, due to a domestic shortage caused by a housing boom and construction following a serious of hurricanes that struck the southeastern United States. The CPSC has confirmed more than 6 million sheets were imported into the country in 2006, and additional temporary support personnel are being brought in to verify more shipments.

While there have been reports of issues with the drywall from 24 different states, most of the drywall complaints have come from Florida, Louisiana and Virginia.

Homeowners and lawmakers have been awaiting results from CPSC laboratory testing, in hopes that it will reveal the cause of the problems, and hopefully provide information on how to safely and effectively remove Chinese drywall from affected homes. In September, Florida Senator Bill Nelson said he would like a Chinese drywall recall, and indicated that he was frustrated by the slow pace of the investigation.

Efforts to remove the material have been spotty and expensive. In some cases, contractors have had to strip homes down to the studs, with no guarantee that they have rid the structure of the corrosive gases. Several companies indicate that they have found potential fixes involving chemical processes, but experts say that until the source of the sulfurous emissions can be accurately determined, such remedies cannot guarantee success.

CPSC investigators have taken samples of the drywall, visited affected homes, and inspected manufacturing plants in China looking for answers. Last week, CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum visited Beijing and issued a joint statement with the Wei Chuanzhong, vice minister of China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, pledging that the two countries would work together in investigating the drywall issue.

A number of homeowners throughout the United States have filed contaminated Chinese drywall lawsuits against manufacturers and distributers. In June, all of the federal drywall litigation was consolidated and centralized in an MDL, or Multidistrict Litigation. The cases were assigned to U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon in New Orleans, who has put the cases on a “fast track,” with trials involving property damage claims set to begin in early 2010.