Bituminous Insurance Companies
Release Date: May 11, 2009
The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have released status reports on their activities concerning drywall imported from China. Since last fall, homeowners in at least 13 states have reported health symptoms or metal corrosion problems in their homes that may be related to this product. Most of the homes affected are those built or remodeled after 2004.
CPSC has taken the lead in the federal investigation. They are working with EPA, the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ASTDR), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and other state and federal agencies to determine the scope of the problem and possible solutions.
The agencies are pursuing a multidisciplinary approach to the investigation. Key activities include evaluating the relationship between the drywall and the reported health symptoms, evaluating the relationship between the drywall and electrical and fire safety issues in the home, and gathering information on mining, manufacturing, and shipping processes associated with drywall manufacture. CPSC will also be investigating incident reports and conducting public awareness campaigns. They have requested an emergency appropriation from Congress to fund these activities.
Health investigations will include an analysis of the chemical composition of samples of Chinese and US manufactured drywall, chamber studies of the samples to isolate chemical emissions, and field investigations to verify the results of the chamber studies and to determine the level of contaminants in people's homes. Results of the laboratory studies are expected in mid-May. An indoor sampling plan for the field investigations is under development and is expected to be ready by the end of June 2009.
The electrical and fire safety investigation will focus on damage that suspected drywall emissions may be causing to electrical wiring, safety equipment, and natural gas connections. CPSC will perform a metallurgical analysis of components harvested from affected residences to characterize the type and extent of damage and determine if and when they may pose a fire or electrical hazard. Also, they will expose new components to elevated levels of the gases identified by the chamber studies, in a controlled atmosphere as part of an accelerated corrosion test.
The federal activities were summarized in letters sent to Governor Crist of Florida and Senator Nelson by EPA Administrator Jackson and Acting CPSC Chairman Nord. The health investigation and component testing are also described in a public information document on imported drywall, which CPSC has published on their Web site at http://www.cpsc.gov/drywall.pdf. CPSC Office of Public Affairs will be establishing a Web site dedicated to the drywall problem once funding is available.
Other recent reports and activities related to the problems surrounding imported drywall include:
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The information contained in this publication was obtained from sources believed to be reliable. ISO Services Properties, Inc., its companies and employees make no guarantee of results and assume no liability in connection with either the information herein contained or the safety suggestions herein made. Moreover, it cannot be assumed that every acceptable safety procedure is contained herein or that abnormal or unusual circumstances may not warrant or require further or additional procedure.