Senate Subcommittee Grills CPSC on Drywall

Online, December 16, 2011 (Newswire.com) - At a hearing in Washington yesterday, lawmakers pressed product safety and health regulators about their three-year investigation into contaminated drywall, expressing frustration with their progress on all fronts. Defective drywall, most of it imported from China, releases sulfur gas that can corrode electric wiring and trigger respiratory irritation. An investigation published last year by ProPublica and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune showed there are nearly 7,000 homes built with bad drywall nationwide, but enough material was imported to build at least 100,000 homes.
Witnesses at yesterday's Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing addressed several questions raised by our coverage , including the still-unknown health effects of sulfur gas exposure, the conflicting government guidelines on how to fix homes built with defective material, the challenges of holding Chinese companies accountable , and whether American-made drywall could also be problematic .

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va, whose state has at least 400 homes affected by bad board, called the drywall problem one of the most frustrating he's dealt with in more than 20 years in politics. Brenda Brincku, a Florida homeowner who has sought relief for problems caused by drywall since 2004, said in written testimony "the federal agencies working on this problem for over four years have failed us." The Consumer Product Safety Commission is leading the federal investigation into drywall. Neal Cohen, the commission's small business ombudsman, defended the agency's efforts, but acknowledged that progress has been stunted by lack of cooperation from Chinese government-owned companies. The subcommittee's primary concern was potential health effects of defective drywall. The Centers for Disease Control and the CPSC maintain that levels of sulfur compounds inside affected homes aren't high enough to cause long-term health problems, but panel members said they found that hard to believe. Exposure to the sulfur gasses for even short periods can cause coughing, severe headaches, bloody noses. Warner said he had visited a home built with defective board staying just 45 minutes, and felt sick for the rest of the day. The hearing's most contentious moment came when Warner asked the Centers for Disease Control representative, Dr. Christopher Portier, "Would you allow your family to live in one of these homes?" Portier paused before answering, "Probably not."