Dirty Drywall Boards Result in Toxic Condition for Home Owners

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When you hear about the toxic chemicals that have been found in imported drywall plasterboards or wallboards from China, you have to ask - how in the world did this happen?

The home builder Lennar Homes and other South Florida builders are asking just that question. They were the major purchasers of the wallboards between 2004 and 2006 from a subsidiary of the German based construction materials giant, Knauf. Little did they know when the over 37 million pounds of the drywall reached Florida ports, that some of it would be laden with toxic sulfides.

What is worse is that none of the toxins were detected in the drywalls for several years. It was only when homeowners began to complain of health issues as well as corroding pipes and copper wiring and a foul odor that people began putting two and two together. It seems when the toxins are confined to tight places and exposed to moisture, they release corrosive gasses. Florida can get very humid, and the air conditioners can run a good majority of the year. That factor, combined with the sulfides in the wallboards eventually became a hazardous recipe for disaster. So, exactly how did the toxins get in the drywall?

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It is suspected the Chinese plants, in order to conserve water resources, reused dirty water in the manufacturing of the drywall plasterboards. Wallboards are made when gypsum, mixed with water to form a pasty substance, is then pressed between multiple layers of paper or fiber. It is sometimes called "gyp-board". The dirty water came from coal-producing plants and mines where is had been originally used to rinse away hazardous sulfide materials from the equipment. Of course the chemical wastes were washed into the water, which was next stored in tanks and delivered to the drywall manufacturing facilities. No one seems certain how many tons of plasterboard were made with this dirty water or for how long. The Chinese are certainly not telling anyone.

Perhaps, as more homes are inspected and the more test positive for the toxic drywall, a pattern will emerge that will give investigators an idea as to what shipments contained the affected plasterboards. The broad time frame seems to be between 2002 and 2007, with the majority being shipped in 2004-2005. What seems more important right now is correcting the problem. That is the focus of the builders, inspectors and even the Federal government.

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