Radioactive Chinese Drywall Is Stinking Up U.S. Homes
The government thinks radioactive industrial waste from China is responsible for a recent sulfur stench that has plagued hundreds of Florida homes. Demand for Chinese drywall spiked during the housing boom, but federal regulators believe the drywall contained phosphogypsum, a banned waste byproduct that features prominently in Chinese construction. When used in drywall, the probable carcinogen can corrode "air conditioners, mirrors, electrical outlets and even jewelry."
The health risk of phosphogypsum is uncertain, but industry specialists say they are troubled by its widespread use and the possibility it was exported, especially in light of recent incidents in which other Chinese imports such as pet food, toys and candy were found to be contaminated with toxic or unsafe substances.
"Considering the fact that phosphogypsum can cause corrosion, something should be done," said Ding Dawu, a geoscientist and an authority on gypsum processing in China. "Right now," he added, "there are no complaints [in China] because most people don't know much about gypsum board and there are no standards against it."
[...]
Huge phosphogypsum dump sites can be seen in all corners of China. Near the banks of the Yangtze River in central China's Wuhan area, raw phosphogypsum is spread over 20 acres and packed 65 feet deep into the ground. The smell of sulfur permeates the air. Workers at the site said the material was given away to anyone willing to pay the transportation costs, a mere $1.75 per ton.
No one knows how much phosphogypsum board from China was shipped abroad. But in 2006, Chinese exports of drywall to the U.S. totaled a record 503 million pounds valued at more than $25 million, according to Chinese customs' statistics. That's enough for 32,000 homes.
The EPA, Customs, and the Department Commerce all say they aren't required to test drywall, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission says they only ask Customs to inspect items for which there are mandatory testing requirements. So, as usual, it's up to the Chinese quality protection agency to keep us safe.
Chinese drywall blamed for odors and corrosion in U.S. homes [The Los Angeles Times]
(Photo: The County Clerk)
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Comments:
Not to suggest that this is the optimal solution, just that it's probably how they're going to handle it.
It's amazing that with how vastly bloated the Federal Government is, they still cannot protect the citizens from crap like this.
I suspect this is/will be a problem to be addressed within the importing countries and not necessarily within China. Once this gets some legs (it's been on and off in the news for over a year now), I expect to see some intra-USA lawsuits.
Whatever happened to that equipment that was supposed to detect radioactive cargo at ports? Would this stuff be detectable? LA times says it contains radium, wiki says that's alpha, beta, AND gamma. If anything should be detectable, this stuff should.
Can't we just end this once and for all by stopping buying dangerous crap (basically everything they produce) from China?
@I Love New Jersey: Sure, the moment you stop posting racist xenophobic comments with no basis in reality.
Not everything exported and made in China is toxic just as there are plenty of US made products that have hurt people. Making comments like that just shows ignorance since for better or for worse China can make products cheaper than we can so it no longer makes sense to manufacture many things here.
@JTK: Ah, the race card. So quickly played by the intellectually bankrupt.
It is undeniable that there has been an uptick in harmful ingrediants in products imported from China. Not all imports; but more than any other country and more than we produce domestically.
They put the date-rape drug in a children's toy, for Pete's sake!
@JTK: Replace China with any other country that lacks regulation on production of certain products. It isn't just China. We really need to stop and look at what we are not doing. We know products from China are a free for all yet we do nothing to require imports from anywhere meet any sort of standards.
The problem is ours for letting unknown products into our supposedly regulated and safe markets. Though there are tons of domestic made products that are killing people. Our system isn't safe, it is our own damn fault. Fund and demand regulatory agencies get back to doing their jobs.
BTW, this mess is yet another legacy of the GWB small govt. fiasco.
@HiPwr: A US company imported and sold the toy. They deserve some blame.
If you want to never eat fish again read up on fish and shrimp farming in Vietnam and Thailand. Ew gross.
@TechnoDestructo: All well and good, but it wouldn't surprise me if the Chinese government knew about this and took bribes to let it happen. They profit and they get to shift blame onto the "expendable population".
I first saw complaints of funky Chinese drywall a few months ago. Each day on the way to and from work, I drive past a local drywall & ceiling tile business, and for a while their outdoor message sign read "OUR DRYWALL IS MADE IN THE USA".
Exacerbating the problem, since the housing market has gone bust, the builders of newer houses that are likely to have funky Chinese drywall have probably gone bankrupt and so can't be held liable.
@bohemian: I agree. If I were importing products from China, I would have them completely disected and analyzed in labratories before putting them on the market.
This reminds me of the urea-formaldehyde foam insulation scandal of the 1970s, and the asbestos insulation scandal of the 1980s. If you thought government regulation was lacking and lax then, you're in for a hell of a ride.
The motto of big business seems to be, "If you don't put profit above people's lives, you're not a capitalist."
I dont see the radioactive part in the post...it seems to be chemically toxic.
@JTK:
Ah, so it's "racist xenophobic" to blame China simply because their morally bankrupt politicos accept bribes that allow this crap, right?
I guess, it's "racist xenophobic" to hate on Rod Blagojevich too.
The terrible thing is the people whom now own these houses, who is going to take the hit? The insurance companies or the banks?
Are the whole houses basically a loss now?
@Mollyg: I was a little confused about that myself. Here's an EPA page with a little more explanation: [www.epa.gov]
Is there a shadow agency which decides when the human herd needs culling? There has to be.
Toxic pthalates have apparently been an ingredient in every single plastic toy I've ever chewed on since 1967.
Who on planet Earth doesn't know that kids put stuff in their mouths?
And Super Elastic Bubble Plastic...I think I swallowed at least a gram of that crap when my neighbor slapped me on the back.
I mean, nobody is that negligent...right?
Right???
@JTK: I'd say the same thing if it was a parade dangerous crap coming from Australia or Austria or wherever. China just happens to be the source and their corrupt and repressive regime seems not to care about the safety of their own people or anyone else. You might also want to look into the xenophobia they practise in China.
No blame the consumer BS from me, but we need to stop buying crap from china. I don't want a leather chair that was improperly tanned giving me rashes, a set of jumper cables that may or may not work at 3AM when 32 degrees when stranded, or a kitchen knife that will be thrown out when I'm dead because the plastic handle is cracked & cheap metal unable to hold an edge. Buy quality that lasts and never underestimate the ability of a product to fail or do harm. NEVER assume where something is made based on the Brand name as most companies today made items both at home & China with the quality being vastly different & for different price segments. For example, Woolrich is a great American company with great quality products, but do not confuse them with "Woolrich" items at Target: Target has purchased a license from Woolrich to use their name, then Target has stuff made in China without any input or standards from Woolrich and is crap that falls apart after a washing or two. Contact Woolrich & they run the other way after saying that they don't make that stuff & tell you to talk to Target, and Target Corporate thinks that items such as a Woolrich quilt should only last 3 months, 1 year if you get an exceptional exception. Target really is no better anymore than Wal Mart when it comes to quality, they use to be a step-up.
@HiPwr: I think the point is that some US company had to buy and import these "quality" products first. China didn't just decide to start shipping drywall to the US for no reason. I don't know how much it costs to spot check shippments for dangerous items, but it's clearly cheaper to not and simply rely on the manufacturer's word.
@JTK: Sigh. I'd choose to stop trading with China for their blatant disregard for WTO regulations (regulations that they agreed to when they joined the WTO.), pegging their currency to the U.S. dollar to keep America constantly in a trade deficit, and the lack of human rights in their workforce.
If it was up to me, I'd tariff the crap out of any goods shipped to the U.S. by any company. I'll pay the extra 3 bucks for a T-shirt.
I work in residential HVAC and so far the manufacturers of evaporator coils are saying they are willing to replace any evaporator coils that fail because of this problem. They also have hinted though that if this turns into a widespread issue, their stance may change.
Some of the isurance companies we deal with have also sent us bulletins on this issue stating they will not cover repairs caused by this issue.
We had an issue similar to this a few years ago when supposedly household chemicals were causing evaporator coils to corrode and leak.
@TechnoDestructo: Problem is in China they charge the victim the price of the bullet, and you know what kind of money grubbing asshats industry executives are, they'd probably pass the cost onto us consumers!!!!
Cat litter and granite countertops also emit radiation, but as long as "they" see it's only drywall, it will go through.
So, when buying a house or renting an apartment try to discover if any drywall work was done during the last 10 years, huh? Makes me want to buy a Scandinavian made tent and live in it for a few years until all of this sorts itself out.
@WB: Then I suppose the next in line would be the distributor who sold to the contractor or builder.
@P_Smith: "asbestos insulation scandal of the 1980s"? Asbestos was in a heck of a lot more than insulation, and the litigation is STILL going on because it is STILL killing people (and it is STILL in lots of homes and buildings). And yes, the government bending over for industry was a very large reason for this problem.
If you're bothered by "excessive litigation", thank the government agencies that let this crap get used in the US. Lawsuits are what happen when nothing is done to prevent people from getting harmed in the first place.
I think it should be up to the construction company to build safe homes to sell so people can actually live in them. Trying to cut cost so they cam maximize their profits is unethical.
Wow, the person who taped that ceiling is a serious amateur. Know that if your taping job looks like that the person you hired doesn't know what their doing.
Regarding the story I haven't sen any of this drywall in Canada yet, it's all Gyproc and made in Canada. This is probably just a large developer trying to save a few pennies by buying this cheap drywall. I think the chances of a small renovator using this stuff is small. As is usually the case its the large companies with the most money who are the most capable of using quality products which are the most likely to use sub standard cheap products.
Might have something to do with every time the govt trys to do something good the GOP steps up and says "and you want your government doing this?" Apparently when the question is pissing your money away, they can only say yes, but helpful things, protecting its people, dont even go there with them.
Have a friend with a newer condo in Florida who had Chinese drywall. He said they noticed a rotten egg smell shortly after taking possession Fortunity for him the builder took care of replacing it. It seems only two out of about one hundred condos had the Chinese drywall. The builder took responability as they are one of the few still building down there.
@wvFrugan:
I think this quote from Terry Pratchett is relevant...
The reason the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.
Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in the city on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.
But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.
This was the Captain Samuel Vimes "Boots" theory of socioeconomic unfairness.
Round up a few company executives and government officials...eeny-meeny-miney-moe...execute one of them. PROBLEM SOLVED.