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Thread ID: 98884	2009-04-11 17:32:00	More Chinese Wonderfulness	SurferJoe46 (51)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
764038	2009-04-11 17:32:00	Got wallboard? Subscribed account with posted credit(s) :Chinese drywall imported during housing boom causes corrosion, possible health risk PARKLAND, Fla . (AP) — At the height of the U . S . housing boom, when building materials were in short supply, American construction companies used millions of pounds of Chinese-made drywall because it was abundant and cheap . Now that decision is haunting hundreds of homeowners and apartment dwellers who are concerned that the wallboard gives off fumes that can corrode copper pipes, blacken jewelry and silverware, and possibly sicken people . Shipping records reviewed by The Associated Press indicate that imports of potentially tainted Chinese building materials exceeded 500 million pounds during a four-year period of soaring home prices . The drywall may have been used in more than 100,000 homes, according to some estimates, including houses rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina . "This is a traumatic problem of extraordinary proportions," said U . S . Rep . Robert Wexler, a Florida Democrat who introduced a bill in the House calling for a temporary ban on the Chinese-made imports until more is known about their chemical makeup . Similar legislation has been proposed in the Senate . The drywall apparently causes a chemical reaction that gives off a rotten-egg stench, which grows worse with heat and humidity . Researchers do not know yet what causes the reaction, but possible culprits include fumigants sprayed on the drywall and material inside it . The Chinese drywall is also made with a coal byproduct called fly ash that is less refined than the form used by U . S . drywall makers . Dozens of homeowners in the Southeast have sued builders, suppliers and manufacturers, claiming the very walls around them are emitting smelly sulfur compounds that are poisoning their families and rendering their homes uninhabitable . "It's like your hopes and dreams are just gone," said Mary Ann Schultheis, who has suffered burning eyes, sinus headaches, and a general heaviness in her chest since moving into her brand-new, 4,000-square foot house in this tidy South Florida suburb a few years ago . She has few options . Her builder is in bankruptcy, the government is not helping and her lender will not give her a break . "I'm just going to cry," she said . "We don't know what we're going to do . " Builders have filed their own lawsuits against suppliers and manufacturers, claiming they unknowingly used the bad building materials . The Consumer Product Safety Commission is investigating, as are health departments in Virginia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Florida and Washington state . Chi . com companies that produced some of the wallboard said they are looking into the complaints, but downplayed the possibility of health risks . "What we're trying to do is get to the bottom of what is precisely going on," said Ken Haldin, a spokesman for Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin, a Chinese company named in many of the lawsuits . The Chinese ministries of commerce, construction and industry and the Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantine did not respond to repeated requests for comment . Chinese news reports have said AQSIQ, which enforces product quality standards, was investigating the complaints but people in the agency's press office said they could not confirm that . Meanwhile, governors in Louisiana and Florida are asking for federal assistance, and experts say the problem is only now beginning to surface . "Based on the amount of material that came in, it's possible that just in one year, 100,000 residences could be involved," said Michael Foreman, who owns a construction consulting firm . The company has performed tests on some 200 homes in the Sarasota area and has been tracking shipments of the drywall . Federal authorities say they are investigating just how much of the wallboard was imported . Shipping records analyzed by the AP show that more than 540 million pounds of plasterboard — which includes both drywall and ceiling tile panels — was imported from China between 2004 and 2008, although it's unclear whether all of that material was problematic or only certain batches . Most of it came into the country in 2006, following a series of Gulf Coast hurricanes and a domestic shortage brought on by the national housing boom . The Chinese board was also cheaper . One homeowner told AP he saved $1,000 by building his house with it instead of a domestic product . Maybe some of their peanut butter got into the mix .	SurferJoe46 (51)
764039	2009-04-11 22:31:00	or surplus milk powder, even.:confused:	Scouse (83)
764040	2009-04-11 23:07:00	We have some of their ceiling panels at work. There are no problems, but the first 12 or 15 weeks were a bit fume ridden. If the building fabric is suffering as a result of this stuff, it seems only fair; the occupants took a beating too. I suspect the blame lies with the purchaser who only considered price when measuring value. In our case the purchasing person is in a far distant office and sees no problem with the product.	R2x1 (4628)
764041	2009-04-12 01:11:00	I suspect the blame lies with the purchaser who only considered price when measuring value . In our case the purchasing person is in a far distant office and sees no problem with the product . I'll give you a 50% for that observation since it isn't all that simple . Buyers for the major retailers will get want they can at the best prices and they are the ones who stock the shelves and pallets of the construction materials stores . We - the general consumers and installers - can only buy what's available to us . Most US-buyers complain a lot about the chi . com supplies we get, but we don't really have any choice in the matter as there are no- or few other suppliers with CONUS designation on the things we need . "MADE IN USA' is very hard to find any more .	SurferJoe46 (51)
764042	2009-04-12 02:10:00	Well, the Dragon is Made In China; they did a pretty fair job there. Quite economical to run (behind) too ;)	R2x1 (4628)
764043	2009-04-12 04:52:00	Yes I am sick of retailers saying don't buy Chinese if you don't like it. It is them that buy the stuff and put it on the shelves. We the public are not ringing them up everyday saying "Please stock more Chinese crap" As SurferJoe says it is hard to find much not made in China now. Soon it will be hard for us to be able to buy their stuff as we no longer export much except kiwifruit and milk powder.	Digby (677)
764044	2009-04-12 06:16:00	Don't forget the dead sheep. Yummy!!!!!	SurferJoe46 (51)
764045	2009-04-12 06:41:00	Soon it will be hard for us to be able to buy their stuff as we no longer export much except kiwifruit and milk powder. And kiwifruit was formerly known as Chinese Gooseberry :(	R2x1 (4628)
764046	2009-04-12 06:58:00	The economic idiocy of the last 25 years will hurt the ordinary people more than the instigators. 10 million curses on all the right wingers hope they lose all their ill gotten gains in the coming crash. So cool to see their rip-off system crashing around their ears and to hear their squealing.	zqwerty (97)
764047	2009-04-12 07:06:00	The economic idiocy of the last 25 years will hurt the ordinary people more than the instigators. 10 million curses on all the right wingers hope they lose all their ill gotten gains in the coming crash. So cool to see their rip-off system crashing around their ears and to hear their squealing. Heavy there dude..... Ken :groan:	kenj (9738)
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