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Is Chinese/Defective Drywall the Next Major Environmental Concern or an Isolated Issue?

August 10, 2009 by MSI

You may have been wondering when the next environmental concern would hit already battered homeowners. Well, the wait is over.  

During the time of building material shortages (from 2001-2006), some homes were built or renovated using defective drywall imported from or manufactured in China. Defective drywall reportedly emits levels of sulfur, methane and/or other volatile organic compounds that cause corrosion of air conditioner and refrigerator coils, copper tubing, electrical wiring, computer wiring and other household items as well as create noxious odors which may also pose health risks. The corrosion occurs rapidly, on the time scale of 6 months to two years. To date, the Consumer Product Safety Commission  has received about 608 reports from residents in 21 States and the District of Columbia who believe their health symptoms or the corrosion of certain metal components in their homes are related to the presence of drywall produced in China. State and local authorities have also received similar reports. The majority of the reports to the CPSC have come from consumers residing in the State of Florida while others have come from consumers in Alabama, Arizona, California, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia.   

Do you think this concern will become widespread throughout the U.S.? Have you had any experience with Chinese/defective drywall that you’d like to share?     

Posted in Domestic Relocation | Link to this post |  | Comments (2)
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Brenda Weir
Brenda Weir
9/16/2009 3:48:24 AM #

My sister and brother in law are also in the Real Estate business purchased a home a couple years ago that they have now discovered to have Chinese Drywall. They had it confirmed thru an inspection. There home smelled from the time that they moved in. We would say in a serious but joking way that the owner's previous must have been running a meth lab in the house.  The smell just never went away.  My sister has been sick since moving into the home and comes to stay on weekends to get fresh air.  Their new computers have crashed twice without cause, their fixtures are tarnished and misc appliances have had issues.  Their only means at this time is to either gut the house to the studs and re-drywall, fix damaged items on appliances, or get out. They are now in the process of placing it short sale at a gut price to move it and/or letting it go to foreclosure.  In order to sell they have to disclose which will limit who if anyone will purchase their home.  What they have now learned is that some are purchasing these homes dirt cheap and sitting out until they can get in on a lawsuit, very sad. This was their dream home and is very devastating to say the least for my sister and her husband.  They worked so hard to then have this happen. With the down market both work wise (as real estate agents) and market wise (to sell their home) this comes at terrible time. They are in the process of moving into one of their rentals.  They are both numb and devastated as there is no real help for them at this time.  It is still in the discovery stage. I can only hope there is no longer medical impact on them as the psychological impact is already present.

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MSI
9/16/2009 8:43:21 AM #

Brenda, thank you for sharing this story. It's been astounding hoto hear these stories and the scary part is that we don't know the full impact nationwide. We are also hosting a webinar on September 22nd and one of the topics is Chinese Dry Wall. To register, please visit: www.relojournal.com/webinars/details.aspx?id=63.

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