Agencies Recommend Removing Drywall

The Department of Housing & Urban Development and the Consumer Product Safety Commission are recommending that home-owners with drywall that is off-gassing hydrogen sulfide should remove the drywall and replace affected electrical components. The remedial guidance was issued on April 2 in light of ongoing studies of chemical emissions from samples of drywall produced in China. It is a follow-up to a protocol issued on Jan. 28 for consumers to identify problem drywall in their homes. The guidance tells consumers that they should replace all problem drywall, any possibly damaged electrical wiring, including fire alarm devices, and all gas service piping and fire suppression sprinkler systems. CPSC also says it is releasing a staff report with preliminary data from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory showing that samples of drywall manufactured in China in 2005 and 2006 had hydrogen sulfide emission rates 100 times greater than those from not-made-in-China drywall samples.