Chinese-made drywall causing home and health hazards

A gut-turning smell like rotten eggs hit Richard and Patricia Kampf the day they first walked into their new house in Cape Coral, Florida, in July 2007. At first they thought it was some kind of “new home” smell that would go away quickly. Patricia bought some scented candles to help cover the odor.

But the smell didn’t go away and other strange things started happening. The metal coil on the central air conditioner turned black and then became so badly corroded it had to be replaced after just a few months. The mirrors in the bathrooms turned black. The Kampfs had to replace the motherboard on their computer three times and their son’s Xbox stopped working—after two repairs they bought a new one.

And then there were the headaches and the nosebleeds. The only time the symptoms subsided was when they were away from the house. Their son, who had always been the picture of health, was sickened for a week by an upper respiratory attack.

After replacing the air conditioner coil several times, the air conditioner company told them their problem was likely the drywall that had been installed in their new home during construction. The Kampfs were astonished.

Similar things were happening in a lot of homes, the air conditioner company told them. The drywall had been imported from China and was giving off metal-corroding gases. It had been used in a lot of new homes during the past few years, they were told.  “This was our dream house – the place we were retiring to,” says Richard. “But it has been nothing but a nightmare. We really don’t know what we are going to do.”

The Kampfs are far from alone. The federal government is now ramping up a multi-agency investigation of drywall imported from China that is suspected of releasing sulfur gases believed to be causing the corrosion and health problems.

Until recently the drywall problems had been found mainly in Florida, but a Washington, D.C.-based research group that works on class action lawsuits, America’s Watchdog, says it is now getting complaints from California, Arizona, Ohio, Texas, Louisiana, Nevada, the Carolinas, Georgia, Mississippi, Virginia and other states.

A number of class-action lawsuits have recently been filed in Florida, where some builders are moving residents out of their homes and replacing suspect drywall. But the Kampfs say their builder recently told them it was not responsible for fixing the problem.

The drywall used in U.S. homes has traditionally been made in this country, but that changed beginning in 2004 as first a building boom and then rebuilding made necessary by hurricanes Katrina and Rita depleted domestic supplies.

A spokesman for the Consumer Product Safety Commission says the agency has been looking into possible defects surrounding drywall imported from China for the last two months and has now initiated a formal compliance investigation. “The agency is on the ground in Florida in a fact-finding mode,” says CPSC spokesman Joe Martyak. “Our goal is to determine if, and to what extent, there is any safety risk involved with imported Chinese drywall.”

Martyak says the CPSC is working on the investigation with the Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control, and the Florida Department of Health. He says the CPSC has received a “handful” of complaints about the drywall beginning late last year. Martyak says the agency has received no reports of fires.

The Florida Department of Health says it has received more than 140 complaints from homeowners and is still trying to determine if the drywall is causing serious health problems. The health department is featuring a series of photos on its Web site to help homeowners identify suspect drywall.

America’s Watchdog says the suspect drywall is being found in homes built or remodeled since 2004. Among the indicators:

• The home may have a slight or strong, sulfur, rotten egg or even acid type smell.
• Air conditioning coils, stove top and oven elements, and refrigerators may be failing at an unusually high rate—often within a year or less.
• Silver jewelry or silver wedding plates or flatware may be tarnishing within months or even weeks. Mirrors might turn black.
• Since moving into the house, a homeowner or family member may have experienced symptoms of severe allergies, nose bleeds, or upper respiratory problems. If that person leaves the home for an extended period of time, these symptoms may disappear.

The Herald Tribune of Sarasota  recently reported that at least 550 million pounds of Chinese drywall have come through U.S. ports since 2006, according to a review of shipping records conducted by the newspaper. That’s enough to build at least 60,000 homes, according to the paper.

The drywall problems are having a negative impact on an already troubled real estate market in Florida, according to USA Today and reports in several newspapers in the Sunshine State. Some would-be home buyers are backing out of contracts.

Richard Kampf says he is worried the corroded wiring poses a fire hazard. “It’s really scary,” he says. “I don’t even want to think about what this has done to the value of our house. It’s awful.”—Bob Williams

Comments

[francisco]

will chinese drywall really mess up refrigerators and possibly washers?

[Caleb]

@troy:
You have to cut a hole in the wall and see if the drywall is stamped "Made in China". See the posted link to the FL Dept of Health.

@Juergen Kuehn:
Yes, mfrs it seems are trying to hide the fact their products come from the PRC. An example is some vehicle tires: Carlisle trailer tires have "Made in China" printed on them in tiny letters on the bead of the tire, so once said tire is mounted, the magic words are hidden behind the wheel rim.

An irony to this was the place I worked that sold the above-mentioned tires did not allow China-made tires on their own vehicles...

[troy]

how do you know if your dry-wall comes from China? thanks

[Jim]

tear the stuff off the walls, put in those containerized cargo units and send it back to China.

[Think BIG]

We all need to look at the bigger picture to see the true costs of conducting business (and our lives) this way:
-health costs
-disposal of hazardous goods
-disposal of copious amounts of (non-biodegradable) packaging
-long term effects of exposure to hazardous materials
-reality of landfilling (costs/finding land/long-term maintenance)

The businesses shipping/selling the millions of junk products (i.e. disposable world items) are passing on the true costs of these items to JOE PUBLIC. The tax money of the general public pays for the landfills; pays for the treatment; pays for the remediation of contaminated lands; etc etc etc.

We, as the PUBLIC (i.e. payee!) must become more aware of how much cost (both from a health standpoint and the $$$) we are inflicting ON OURSELVES with our disposable lifestyle.

Think about it.

[ns]

WAKE UP PEOPLE

[Alfred Mallia]

Canada is not different, everything you here buy is made in China.The questions are: Are we as consumers willing to pay more for a better product and more importantly are companies willing to give up bigger profits?
Unfortunately most of the time the answer is NO to both questions!
Let's not forget that it took many years for our quality controls to be in place.
China is going through a massive and rapid industrial change and it will take some time to have their checks and controls in place.

[J B]

I feel the federal Government is resposible for fixing the problem with Chinese drywal.The dryall was approved as having no health or structual adverse effects. If you take a piece of drywall down from the wall you will see made in China and the seal of approval on the back of the board.
The Mayor in the City of Parkland who has Chinese dryall in his own house called a meeting last monday at the Marriott Hotel at heron Bay Country Club where over 40 home homes are iffected with the toxic drywall from China. There is an easy way to tell if you have the Chinese drywall. copper turns black, sterling silver turns black,

[Alexandre Bégin]

I'm just sick and tired of North America outsourcing basically our entire lives to such an irresponsible nation as China. It upsets me even more that NA companies that deal with Chinese companies trust them and don't seem to test their Chinese made products before selling them. You can't even say "I won't buy Chinese products": Everything is now made there. Protectionism?? You bet : Protecting my own life and that of my family.

[Elisabeth]

The reason that I don't buy Chinese products goes beyond health, safety and economic issues. It disturbs me greatly that I can't tell if my products are being made by prisoners whose only crime is thinking something that the government doesn't agree with. Until China grants their people basic freedoms such as the freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and freedom of religion I won't buy their products.

[Valerie]

OK America companies are sending manufacturing jobs to China and we are getting toxins in return. It's our fault, everyone. We should have quality control measures enforced by our American companies that protect us. Yet another way corporate America is dropping the ball and pointing the finger.

[Juergen Kuehn]

I believe the consumer revolt against Chinese Communist products is gaining momentum.

They used to show "Made in the PRC" (People's Republic of China) on their stuff. Then it became innocently "China" and now I find often it shows no country of origin at all.

After having had several bad experiences with their junk, I go out of my way, at great expenses sometimes, to avoid their products.

Having just come back from a trip to Germany I found that it is not flooded with them, I guess because of the European Union. I found a lot of products still being made in Europe.

[LindsayBennett]

The consumer is in a better place than the government to affect the import of goods from China without starting a trade war. In my business I have told my suppliers that I will not buy products made in China and have done so for years. It is up to the consumer to tell suppliers and manufacturers that you will not buy their products if they are made in China.

[RODGER]

You can thank the US and Canadian goverments for giving tax breaks to the rich so they could invest in new factories,--- in China, and shutting down thier North American facilities.

[Rick Hollett]

Mr Kampf might be well advised to have an air quality test done to indicate the source of the problems(if ha hasn't done so already)Then go ahead and sue the contactor. Curious if the drywall has been sourced from Canada as well? It boggles the mind to think we have to transport such basic needs thousands of miles. Carbon footprint anyone?

Rick

[just disgusted]

It would be the best solution if we could boycott Chinese merchandise, however this has become impossible. North America has managed to send the majority of their manufacturing there or place like it because of the lack of environmental issues, low wages or human rights. These are multi-national companies with no ties to any community and their only purpose is making the biggest profit they can. We have small companies that do supply us with quality product but can't compete with the Chinese substandard stuff and while the government is pumping money into the bigger players like banks and the auto industry it's forgetting the small ones and we are seeing more and more forced into bankruptcy. Are we willing to pay more for a better quality product?

[LC]

I agree with Ron. When is our government going to wake up and realize that we have to stop buying from China???? Sure their products are cheap but at what cost to human lives. And people, you have to do your part to stop buying the products from China. Whatever happened to paying for quality instead of quantity?

[NCS]

Remember dumped from CHINA: First it was Brand name designer watches, recorded video cassette tapes, recorded DVD s & music CDs, CHICKEN Disease, Infant formula MILK POWDER tainted with Melamine, TOYS with poisonous Lead paint and now the home building products. Well, what else will we have that is consumable and imported from such countries where consumer safety and quality has no place ?

[pismo vacationer]

We remodeled an entire master bathroom just a few years ago and we made sure there wasn't even one nail made in China. I had to source all of the fixtures myself and tell all the subcontractors my wishes, but I am so glad I did that. At the time it was simply because we boycott chinese-made goods in general, but now I actually feel like my bathroom is safer too! It costs a lot more to use/find non-chinese-made, but with every day I am more certain we are doing the right thing!

[George Roy]

This drywall situation doesn't surprize me. I've had problems with Chinese products for years. Shorts that fade in months. walking shoes that come apart in weeks, oral fever thermometers that do not work as advertised, a battery charger that discharges instead, and I could go on and on. My suggestion is don't buy Chinese. The problem is trying to find a substitute that is made somewhere else.

[Terry A]

Dog Food, Baby Formula, Lead painted toys, now Drywall, and more. The next ting will be Pharmacuticals and our food. BUY AMERICAN If you think you can.

[Chris Baker]

We need a federal tax on all manufactured products to be deposited into a fund that be used to investigate and remediate blatantly unsafe products such as this. Also get rid of this free trade nonsense, which leaves the US at a competitive disadvantage.

[lil tomatobirdy]

This is excellent information and I'm so glad to see this here. Years ago I purchased a pair of small black 'rubber' binoculars at my hardware store (a TrueValue franchise, for tracing sake, but I'm sure many carry similar goods). They came in one of those sealed hard plastic shells. I thought the smell would disappait. Holding them up to my eyes, the 'smell' was so strong my eyes burned. What a strange pairing of material to function!

I suspect they are recycling hazardous wastes in heretofore, more benign materials.

1. Years ago, we talked about American manufactorers and their role in capitalizing /working with the Chinese factories. What is the current state of multinational involvement?

2. What is the health (fiscal) of American drywall companies? How are they doing in the downturn? And for shipping costs, financial and fuel, what about Mexico or Canada?

[Mark]

There should be a law ALREADY in place to prevent the importation of such harmful products from China. That law is Congressional/Senatorial oversight of the "Favored Trading Nation" status of China. That treaty should be reviewed periodically to ensure that China doesn't export harmful goods to the U.S., or risk loosing its favored trading nation status. We ought to tax and surcharge their products to the point where they don't send them to us anymore.

[Bart]

We have been betrayed by our own (American) companies who have now shifted virtually all consumer-item manufacturing jobs to China. China in turn uses native laborers who (a) make next to nothing for their labors, (b) live in the most deplorable conditions, (c) and enjoy no safety measures whatever to protect either life or limb. As a consequence of this criminal enterprise, participating American brands realize a several hundred percent increase in their former profit margin by marketing these vastly inferior products here in the States at the maximum possible price. We, the consumers, are stuck with a shoddy product which likely as not is going to fail, malfunction and/or endanger us right out of the box. All the while, our government stands by and makes no protest, all the while borrowing still more billions from Chinese bankers. --It's a nightmare, and I for one don't understand why this isn't the number one story in the media every day. It isn't, and I see no sign whatever of any change to this vile situation anywhere on the horizon.