Toxic Drywall
— by Jeffrey Wisniewski — 27 October 2009 — 3 comments below »
You may have read or heard about the rising number of recent homes built with toxic drywall (mostly in the eastern United States). I asked the City if there had been any cases or any suspicion in any of the recent developments in the city. The response…
The City of Hercules has not received any reports of toxic wallboard in our city as of this date. I have been following this closely and it appears the wallboard was manufactured with sulfur and two other organic ingredients normally found in acrylic paint. The tell tale signs are the smell of rotting eggs, blackened wiring and/or copper piping. The symptoms include itchy eyes and skin, persistent coughing and bloody noses.
Most of the wallboard was used between 2004 and 2008 in Florida and Louisiana.
We will continue to keep an eye open for this product but so far it has not been an issue.
Regards,
John J. McGuire C. B. O.
Chief Building Official
I have seen some articles in which it states that Taylor Woodrow admitted to using this product in their Florida developments. Has anyone checked their drywall? Another indicator is the name KNAUF or Knauf Plasterboard (Tianjin) visible on the material.
How come you don’t post my responses Jeff?
@Howard Jones – I replied to you by email when you posted this comment. I am not sure what responses you are referring to, but I’ll leave this comment up as a reminder.