The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) have set up criteria on how homeowners can document that their home is plagued with Chinese drywall.
The government agencies have outlined what homeowners are to look for in identifying the faulty drywall, and how inspectors can confirm and document those observations.
Installation of such drywall will need to have been between 2001 and 2008. Drywall installed between 2001 and 2004 will need to meet the following criteria:
- markings on the drywall indicating it was made in China;
- chemical analysis of metal corrosion in the home;
- elemental markers in the drywall;
- specific chemical emissions from the drywall
Homes with new drywall installed between 2005 and 2008 must be able to meet two out of the four listed criteria. The CPSC suggests that collecting such evidence may require professional assistance and analysis. The full guidance can be found here.
Homeowners are still waiting for direction on the proper way to remediate a home of this toxic drywall. Is it best to gut a home and throw away the drywall; can a house be treated to eliminate the potency of the drywall, or should a home be completely torn down? Dr. Warren Friedman, senior advisor to the director of the office of healthy homes and lead hazard control for HUD, said, “We hope to release the remediation protocols this spring.”
Posted by Sharon Walker
