Chinese Housing Materials

It would appear that materials made in China for the housing trade, much of them installed during the most recent building boom, are now being found to be not only defective, but dangerous.  Drywall, electrical systems, fire alarm systems, gas pipes, and other items are suspect.  From Cain Burdeau of the AP, via The Huffington Post:

Thousands of U.S. homes tainted by Chinese drywall should be gutted, according to new guidelines released Friday by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.


The guidelines say electrical wiring, outlets, circuit breakers, fire alarm systems, carbon monoxide alarms, fire sprinklers, gas pipes and drywall need to be removed.
...
The drywall has been linked to corrosion of wiring, air conditioning units, computers, doorknobs and jewelry, along with possible health effects. Tenenbaum said some samples of the Chinese-made product emit 100 times as much hydrogen sulfide as drywall made elsewhere.

The agency continues to investigate possible health effects, but preliminary studies have found a possible link between throat, nose and lung irritation and high levels of hydrogen sulfide gas emitted from the wallboard, coupled with formaldehyde, which is commonly found in new houses.

 I know several folks who built homes during that period, myself included, so be aware.

2 April 2010