HOUSTON—The reports started coming in 2006, slowly at first, starting in Florida homeowners saying they were getting sick from something in their house.
Now complaints have come from 32 states, including Texas.
Since early 2009 nearly 3000 official complaints have been filed with the Consumer Products Safety Commission about imported drywall.
Testing done by the CPSC has found the sulfuric gases being emitted by some Chinese drywall are more than 100 times normal in some cases.
That is causing all kinds of damage essentially to anything metal, air conditioner coils, electrical wires and outlets, even appliances.
There are also a range of symptoms effecting occupants health in the complaints to the CPSC attributed to gases being emitted from the drywall; itchy eyes, headaches, bloody noses and breathing problems.
The federally recommended fix is essentially starting over.
The CPSC says replacement is required not just of all drywall, but all electrical components and wiring including outlets switches and circuit breakers, all gas piping and all fire alarm systems.
How can you find out if you might have a problem?
First you should conduct a visual inspection to find blackening of copper electrical wiring and or AC evaporator coils, and installation of new drywall between 2001 and 2008.
In addition, you can go into the attic and look for markings suggesting Chinese origin.
The initial testing suggests that the biggest culprit is Chinese drywall manufactured in 2005 and 2006.
