Chinese drywall linked to irritation

Sulfur thought to be culprit; homeowners urged to get 'fresh air'

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has some unsettling advice for people who live in homes built with Chinese-made drywall: "Spend as much time outdoors in fresh air as possible."

The CPSC said it has received 2,091 reports from consumers in 32 states, the District and Puerto Rico about contaminated drywall in homes. Occupants have complained of rotten-egg smells; irritated eyes, skin and respiratory systems; asthma attacks; and headaches. They also have complained of metals installed in their new homes, including copper pipes and electrical wiring, turning black from corrosion.

On Monday, the CPSC reported that there is a "strong association" between homes built with Chinese drywall and levels of hydrogen sulfide in the indoor air.

The agency hired Environmental Health & Engineering, a Massachusetts-based environmental testing firm, to perform detailed tests on 41 homes that had been the subject of complaints about Chinese drywall and 10 homes, built around the same time, that were not the focus of complaints.

Earlier studies have shown large amounts of sulfur in some drywall imported from China. Monday's report makes the link between that sulfur content and health and maintenance problems being reported by homeowners. "In ways still to be determined, hydrogen sulfide gas is being created in homes built with Chinese drywall," the CPSC's statement said.

The tests also found elevated levels of formaldehyde in the air, which the CPSC said can be expected in well-insulated new construction. While hydrogen sulfide and formaldehyde were found at levels lower than the amount considered to be irritants, officials speculated that the two could be combining to produce higher levels of irritation than either would alone.

Representatives of the formaldehyde industry said it is irresponsible to speculate that the two substances, at the levels found in the CPSC study, can act in a synergistic manner.

Most complaints have been about homes built in 2006 and 2007, and the large majority -- 68 percent -- are in Florida. Louisiana accounts for 18 percent of complaints. Demand for imported drywall surged in the Gulf Coast states as property owners rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the new-home market in Florida was still booming.

But there have been complaints from the District and Maryland, as well. And Virginia, with 82 complaints, or 4 percent of the total, accounts for the third-largest share, according to the CPSC. Most Virginia reports have come from the Hampton Roads area, a CPSC spokeswoman said.

The other states with significant shares of complaints are Alabama, with 2 percent, and Mississippi, with 4 percent.

In addition to health complaints, there's concern that metal corrosion could cause long-term safety hazards because of damage to wiring, electrical components or copper gas lines.

Researchers did not find evidence that, despite clear signs of corrosion, any of the parts were in danger of imminent failure. But they said the sample size of their survey was too small to estimate the probability that long-term exposure would cause those metal parts to fail.

In the report, CPSC officials said they don't think any new Chinese drywall has entered the United States this year, though there are several stockpiles of uninstalled drywall in the country. "The owners of these stockpiles have been notified of this ongoing investigation and advised to notify the CPSC if they sell or dispose of any drywall from their inventory," the CPSC report said.

The federal government's Interagency Drywall Task Force is now supposed to develop methods to identify homes with a corrosive environment and study the effectiveness of remediation methods.

The group has found that, by using handheld X-ray and infrared instruments, testers were able to identify contaminated sheets of drywall without destroying walls.

Meanwhile, they advise occupants to keep indoor air as cool and dry as possible, refrain from smoking and open windows -- and, as noted above, spend as much time outdoors as possible.

Homeowners who think they have contaminated drywall can report it to the CPSC at 800-638-2772 or at CPSC.gov. The government's Drywall Information Center, http://www.cpsc.gov/info/drywall, has photographs showing the telltale signs of metal corrosion.