Feds Find Corrosion from Problem Drywall Not As Bad As Feared

There's at least some good news for homeowners with problem drywall. A study by Sandia National Laboratories finds that it is not necessary to replace all of the electrical wiring in homes afflicted with the Chinese drywall that emits hydrogen sulfide gas.

However, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) say electrical switches, receptacles, circuit breakers and smoke and firm alarms should still be replaced, as they can be affected by corrosion exposure to the gas.

This change in the agencies' recommendations may reduce the cost of remediation for many homes.

After simulating more than 40 years of corrosive conditions that could exist in problem drywall homes, Sandia staff did not observe any acute or long-term electrical safety events, such as smoking or fire, a CPSC news release said.

"Corrosion and blackening of the exposed electrical components did occur and was observed to be consistent with the characteristic corrosion reported to CPSC by thousands of consumers," the CPSC said. "Based on this study, it is the belief of the staffs of CPSC, HUD and Sandia that long-term exposure of wiring and other electrical components to hydrogen sulfide gases does not indicate a safety hazard to a home's electrical systems."

With these changes, the remediation guidance for homes with problem drywall calls for the replacement of all:

• problem drywall;

• fire safety alarm devices, including smoke and carbon monoxide alarms;

• electrical distribution components, including receptacles, switches and circuit breakers; and

• gas service piping and fire suppression sprinkler systems.

CPSC and HUD staffs are also issuing an updated identification guidance (pdf), which broadens the range of installation years of affected homes to include homes where drywall was installed as late as 2009. Importantly, the drywall installed in 2009 had been previously imported during the years 2006-2007 and does not represent any new importation of problem drywall.

The staffs of CPSC and HUD believe that following the updated identification and remediation protocols (pdf) will enable homeowners to correctly identify homes containing problem drywall and comprehensively remediate those homes to address any potential health and safety issues associated with the problem drywall.

CPSC is in the final stages of completing its scientific investigation into problem drywall. For additional findings from the Interagency Drywall Task Force's investigation, visitwww.DrywallResponse.gov

The problem was originally blamed on a shortage of American-manufactured drywall, ostensibly due to the housing boom and extensive construction in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Recently, however, suspicions have arisen that the problem dates back further. Some Florida experts have suggested that the defective drywall was installed as early as 2004.

Many homeowners complained of headaches, dry eyes, and bloody noses, among other allergy-like symptoms, but the most serious documented damage was to wiring and appliances that were damaged by sulfuric gases emitted by the Chinese drywall.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) earlier this year said it had found no evidence that the drywall fumes had caused any deaths. The CDC investigated 11 deaths of people who had lived in or visited homes that contained Chinese drywall that caused unpleasant odors, corroded metals and made homes uninhabitable. It found that all died from natural causes and that most had been suffering from chronic or severe illness prior to their deaths.

There have been numerous lawsuits, including several class actions.