Feds: Chinese drywall reports still inconclusive

Federal studies released today cannot definitively link imported Chinese drywall to health problems or corrosion of pipes and wires that thousands of U.S. homeowners have been reporting for nearly a year. The Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is leading the multi-agency investigation, says it needs to further study the matter before it can consider a recall, ban or other solutions to help affected homeowners. Additional results from ongoing studies were due to be released next month. “The expansive investigation and scientific work that has been done and continues to be carried out is all aimed at providing answers and solutions,” says Lori Saltzman, a director in the CPSC’s Office of Hazard Identification and Reduction. “No connections have been made yet.” Saltzman said the agency, which has so far spent $3.5 million on the studies, has received nearly 1,900 homeowner complaints during one of its largest consumer product investigations in U.S. history. “We understand this problem has literally driven people from their homes,” she says. Homeowners, however, were frustrated by a lack of answers. During the height of the U.S. housing boom, with building materials in short supply, American construction companies imported millions of pounds of Chinese-made drywall because it was abundant and cheap. The boards are heavily concentrated in the Southeast, especially Florida and areas of Louisiana and Mississippi hit hard by Hurricane Katrina.