Corrosive drywall??

[Cajunrider]

I just caught this story on one of our New Orleans television news stations this morning. It concerns highly corrosive imported drywall or sheet-rock. With the rash of Gulf Coast hurricanes in the last 5 years, a serious shortage of building supplies including drywall hit the US. With all of the homes that were destroyed from the Florida to Texas Gulf Coast there was not enough building material on hand to rebuild. So, we began importing materials from China. The process China uses to manufacture drywall and plasterboard involves a step which includes Sulfuric Acid. This stuff has been used in thousands of homes from Florida to Texas. It begins emitting Sulfur Dioxide gas (SO2) inside of your home. The first symptom is bathroom fixtures beginning to corrode. Then you begin to have air conditioning problems. The copper coils begin corroding and fail. You have the coils replaced and before long they need replacement again. All of your copper electrical wiring begins corroding at the terminals of wall receptacles and switches. If your studs are metal, they are corroding behind the walls and you can't see this happening. Many homes are having to be gutted and some even demolished and rebuilt from scratch. Exposed plumbing above the concrete slab has to be replaced. A class action law suit has been started by a Florida law firm in an attempt to recoup money for affected homeowners. SO2 exposure has been known to cause pulmonary ailments in adults and children. Who knows how bad this is going to affect the long term health of people living in these homes. Lead paint in children's toys and now corrosive atmospheres in our homes. If you think you may have Chinese drywall, a simple way to tell is to pull away some insulation in your attic and you will see "Made in China" prominately displayed on the back side of the ceiling drywall material. China is very subtle in their destruction of the US.

[cactusjack]

Why do we even import stuff from China? (rhetorical question) It seems most things they export are dangerous. This "global economy" has serious shortcomings, not the least of which are poor quality control and questionable manufacturing practices.

[rflnomad]

There is a expensive development not far from me and ALL the houses have this drywall in them. The people are sick and some sleep in their cars in the driveway!
People were even improting cement because shortages. I heard of driveways are cracking!
Just what we need more forclosures and lawsuits. All in the name of profit & greed.

[dogdoc]

Glad my home was built in 1982 and has good drywall, poor people.

[lw]

As much drywall work as has been and is being done post-Ike, I hope the crap is as fire resistive as our domestic gypsum board. Since we KNOW that regulations and inspections in China are nowhere near as stringent as ours, it wouldnt surprise me in the least to hear later that insurance comapanies refuse to pay claims (both fire or corrosion related) where this crap was used.

[glwilson]

I would like to know the "trail" of taxpayer (government) money that bought the drywall.

I was aware of proposed shortage of drywall during that period of time; but I can tell you... I know of several areas throughout the U.S. that never saw a shortage... and in fact didn't know what people were talking about. They said there might have been a tight supply; but not an emergency issue or complete lack of product regarding drywall.

Thus... I believe; given these reliable sources; that there truly was not a lack of drywall supply; but rather only a delay in getting drywall in a timely fashion (price did go up during this time).

So whomever purchased Chinese drywall during this period... might have been dealing in "funny-business" with taxpayers' money.