ATSDR report finds drywall imported from China in the 2000s may have affected human health

The ATSDR today released a report, “Health Consultation: Possible Health Implications from Exposure to Sulfur Gases Emitted from Chinese-Manufactured Drywall,” describing the laboratory tests and modeling researchers used to estimate levels of sulfur compounds in indoor air of homes built with problem drywall, including drywall imported from China in 2005 and 2006.

The findings and conclusions of the report are based on analysis of a small number of drywall samples and cannot be generalized to all homes built with problem drywall. The drywall sampled was manufactured in China between 2005 and 2006, and in 2009. For comparison purposes, samples also included drywall manufactured in North America in 2009.

In early 2009, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) began investigating the problem with imported drywall from China with support from ATSDR and other federal and state agencies. CPSC has guidance for identifying problem drywall.

A 2012 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) report estimates that problem drywall imported from China was most likely used in the construction of approximately 11,000 new homes.

The full report is available at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/drywall.

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES