Link Found Between Chinese Drywall & Corrosion

The federal government said that it has found a “strong association” between problematic imported Chinese drywall and corrosion of pipes and wires, a conclusion that supports complaints by thousands of homeowners over the last year, the Associated Press reports.

In its second report on the potentially defective building materials, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said its investigation also has found a possible link between health problems reported by homeowners and higher-than-normal levels of hydrogen sulfide gas emitted from the wallboard coupled with formaldehyde, which is commonly found in new houses.

The commission, along with the Environ-mental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, continues to study the potential health effects, and the long-term implications of the corrosion.

During the height of the U.S. housing boom, with building materials in short supply, American construction companies imported millions of pounds of Chinese-made drywall because it was abundant and cheap. An Associated Press analysis of shipping records found that more than 500 million pound Chinese gypsum board was imported between 2004 and 2008 — enough to have built tens of thousands of homes.

The houses are heavily concentrated in the Southeast, especially Florida and areas of Louisiana and Mississippi hit hard by Hurricane Katrina.