CPSC Releases Names of Toxic Chinese Drywall Manufacturers

Published: May 26th, 2010 •  

Federal investigators say they have identified the specific companies that imported the Chinese drywall products that are emitting high levels of sulfur, damaging electrical equipments and releasing foul odors in thousands of homes across the U.S. 
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) released drywall testing results on Tuesday, which identify a number of companies as manufacturers of the toxic drywall. All of the drywall found to be releasing high amounts of sulfur were made in China.
According to the CPSC, federal investigators have received more than 3,300 complaints from across the United States from homeowners who say that toxic Chinese wallboard imported between 2004 and 2007 releases sulfuric odors, causes health problems, and corrodes wiring and appliances. Many of the problems with the Chinese drywall have been confirmed by laboratory testing.
Millions of sheets of the toxic drywall were imported from China into the United States due to a domestic shortage caused by a housing boom and construction following a serious of hurricanes that struck the southeastern United States. The CPSC has confirmed more than 6 million sheets were imported into the country in 2006 alone.
Testing performed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) was used to detect emissions of hydrogen sulfide from a large number of domestic and imported drywall. The CPSC says there is a “strong association” between hydrogen sulfide and metal corrosion. Some of the worst Chinese drywall was found to emit 100 times as much hydrogen sulfide as wallboard made in the U.S.
The companies with the most sulfuric drywall included:

• Knauf Plasterboard (Tianjin) Co. Ltd.
• Taian Taishan Plasterboard Co. Ltd.
• Shandong Taihe Dongxin Co.
• Shandong Chenxiang GBM Co. Ltd. (C&K Gypsum Board)
• Beijing New Building Materials (BNBM)

Knauf Plasterboard, Taian Taishan and Shandong Taihe had multiple products which the CPSC considered to be among the worst of the worst.
more here 

To date, Knauf is the only drywall manufacturer who has responded to the lawsuits. Last month, Judge Fallon awarded $2.6 million to seven Virginia families who filed a lawsuit against Taishan Gypsum Co. over imported drywall problems. However, it is unclear how the families will collect, since China does not acknowledge civil lawsuit judgments in the U.S., and the company did not send a representative to court to answer the charges.