WASHINGTON -- Officials with the Consumer Product Safety Commission say they've found elevated levels of two elements in some Chinese-made drywall: sulfur and strontium --- and they continue to investigate links to reported health symptoms and corrosion effects.
The investigation of the drywall itself found that it emits elevated levels of sulfur compounds, but there's still no defining the drywall as "toxic."
CPSC officials briefed Virginia lawmakers in Washington, DC about the findings ahead of the public release.
Virginia has the third highest number of reported problems with the product in the U.S.
Some residents in Newport News, Chesapeake, Norfolk and Virginia Beach have even moved out of their homes as a precaution.
Reacting to the news today, Fred and Vannessa Michaux of Newport News believe reality should trump science.
They moved their family out of their townhouse in Hollymeade two months ago after learning it was built with Chinese drywall.
Mr. Michaux says his six-year-old son developed serious allergies when they lived there.
To date, CPSC has received nearly 1,900 complaints from 30 states, Washington DC and Puerto Rico from homeowners who say the drywall is making them sick and corroding pipes in their homes.
According to the CPSC, some findings during home testing came as a surprise. When looking for evidence of the "rotten egg" smell reported by owners -- hydrogen sulfide, carbon disulfide and carbonyl sulfide and sulfur-like corrosion of copper and other metals in the homes --- those gasses were only found occasionally when outdoor air levels were elevated as well.
The early sample study of 10 Florida homes found levels of two known irritants: acetaldehyde and formaldehyde. But the levels were the same for both homes with Chinese and non-Chinese drywall and were not unusual for new homes. Levels were lower when home air conditioning was in use.
So, what's next?
The CPSC's 50-home indoor air study should be released in November.? It will include additional testing results, including the exposure of small copper and silver metal strips. These strips are being used to help determine if there is a relationship between homes with Chinese drywall and corrosion of metal components in those homes. The study is also looking for certain sulfur gases at lower levels than could be detected in the initial studies.
The homes in the study are in Florida, Louisiana, Virginia, Alabama and Mississippi.
Also in November, expected release of preliminary engineering analysis of potential electrical and fire safety issues related to corrosion.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) said, "These preliminary results stop short of linking the drywall to the structural and health issues facing Virginia homeowners, but further tests are underway and I continue to urge the federal agencies conducting this testing to get the results out as quickly as possible. In the meantime, we are working with mortgage lenders to try to provide some financial relief for these Virginia families because most of these homes simply are not inhabitable."
Also in Washington Thursday, Rep. Glenn Nye (D-2nd D) introduced an amendment this afternoon that would let affected homeowners get
The money could be used to repair and replace the potentially toxic drywall.
"These are the loans available to homeowners who need to repair property damaged by a disaster like a flood or hurricane," explained Nye spokesman Clark Pettig.
The amendment passed the House just before 5:00 p.m. with unanimous bipartisan support, Pettig noted.
Any homeowner who believes their health symptom and/or corrosion of electrical and metal components is tied to Chinese drywall should all the CPSC's Hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
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