2009 Chinese drywall controversy
Encyclopedia
The 2009 Chinese drywall controversy is a health and safety issue involving defective drywall
manufactured in China
and imported by the United States
starting in 2001. Laboratory tests of samples for volatile
chemicals have identified emissions of the sulfurous gases carbon disulfide
, carbonyl sulfide
, and hydrogen sulfide
. These emissions, which have the odor of rotten eggs, worsen as temperature and humidity rise and cause copper surfaces to turn black and powdery, a chemical process indicative of reaction with hydrogen sulfide. Copper pipes, wiring, and air conditioner coils are affected, as well as silver jewelry. Homeowners have reported a variety of symptoms, including respiratory problems such as asthma attacks, chronic coughing and difficulty breathing, as well as chronic headaches and sinus issues.
is a common building material typically made of a layer of gypsum
-based plaster pressed between two thick sheets of paper, then dried in a kiln
.
Foreign drywall was imported by the United States during the construction boom between 2004 and 2007. Importation was further spurred by a shortage of American-made drywall due to the rebuilding demand of nine hurricanes that hit Florida from 2004 to 2005, and widespread damage caused along the Gulf Coast by Hurricane Katrina
in 2005. An analysis covering drywall imports since January 2006 showed that more than 550 million pounds of Chinese drywall was brought into the United States since then, enough to build 60,000 average-sized homes.
Homeowners alleging that they installed contaminated drywall have reported numerous incidents of corroding copper and other metals in their homes. The Florida Department of Health advised homeowners worried about tainted drywall to check copper tubing coils located in air conditioning and refrigeration units for signs of corrosion caused by hydrogen sulfide, as these are usually the first signs of the issue. Under normal circumstances, copper corrosion leaves it a blue/green or dark red color, whereas corrosion as a result of hydrogen sulfide exposure leaves a black ash-like corrosion. Homeowners who have verified that their home contains contaminated Chinese drywall are advised to replace any suspect drywall, as well as any potentially damaged copper electrical wiring, fire alarm systems, copper piping, and gas piping.
The states of Florida
(59%), Louisiana
(20%), Mississippi
(6%) and Alabama
(5%) made up 90% of the 3,082 cases reported to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
(CPSC) as of April 2, 2010.
More than 700 complaints had been filed with the Florida Department of Health
. Sources estimated that from 60,000 to 100,000 homes could be affected.
Dramatic increases in new home construction, coupled with the reconstruction effort after hurricane damage led to a soaring increase in the quantity of imported Chinese drywall. Time magazine reports that more than 550 million pounds of drywall has been imported from China since 2006, including much from the known principal manufacturer of the contaminated drywall, Knauf. However, domestic drywall manufacturing averages over 15 million tons per year, leaving imported Chinese drywall with only a small portion of the market. It is estimated that this imported drywall has been used to construct approximately 60,000 homes.
From January to September 2006, 52 million pounds of Knauf drywall were unloaded in New Orleans, three-quarters of it from Knauf Tianjin, and at least 37 million pounds of Knauf drywall was shipped directly from China to Florida ports.
Drywall usually has a source printed on the back. Chinese drywall may be marked "Made in China", "China", "Knauf Tianjin", or have no marking at all. A home may have been built with drywall from several sources, American and imported.
In April 2009, home improvement stores The Home Depot and Lowe's confirmed from their suppliers that no drywall sold in their stores was imported from China.
On November 23, 2009, CBS
News reported that they had done a drywall study to compare American and Chinese drywall. Random samples of new American-made drywall in six U.S. cities, new Chinese-made drywall from China, and samples of drywall from five damaged U.S. homes were collected and sent to the University of Florida to be tested by a team of researchers led by professor Tim Townsend, a scientist and leading expert on the effects of drywall on the environment. The report results stated:
(CPSC), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Florida officials.
In February 2009, U.S. Senator Bill Nelson
of Florida sent a letter to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the EPA, asking them to jointly investigate whether the Chinese drywall is toxic, and to determine the extent of potential damage to homes. The Consumer Product Safety Commission launched a formal investigation.
In March 2009, as concerns about the defective drywall grew, Senator Nelson of Florida and Senator Mary Landrieu
of Louisiana jointly introduced a resolution and bill urging the Consumer Product Safety Commission to recall Chinese-made drywall and temporarily ban its import.
In May 2009, the U. S. House of Representatives passed an amendment to the Mortgage Reform and Predatory Lending Act, HR 1728, that would require the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to study the effects of tainted Chinese drywall on foreclosure
s and the availability of property insurance
.
In November 2009, the CPSC reported on an indoor air study comparing 41 "complaint" homes in five states with 10 control homes built around the same time. The report found a "strong association" between the imported drywall and levels of hydrogen sulfide gas and metal corrosion in the complaint homes.
in the Chinese material. This suggests that pyrite oxidation may be the source of the sulfur compounds released by Chinese drywall.
The problems have been attributed to the use of fly ash
in the drywall, which degrades in the presence of heat and moisture; although United States' drywall uses fly ash as well, the process used creates a cleaner final product.
According to a 2010 laboratory study, one hundred percent of affected drywall samples obtained from homes located in the southeastern United States tested positive for the presence of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans, an iron and sulfur reducing bacterium. Samples of non-contaminated drywall were found to contain only minuscule levels of T. ferroxidans.
The Center for Disease Control, in collaboration with The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry released a guide indicating the residents of affected homes reported irritated and itchy eyes and skin, difficulty breathing, persistent cough, bloody noses, runny noses, recurrent headaches, sinus infection, and asthma attacks.
's office has warned of several deceptive practices targeted at homeowners, including bogus test kits, home inspection offers, ozone
generators and chemical cleaners. The warnings point out that the presence of defective drywall cannot be determined by testing a home's air, or corrected by chemical sprays or ozone generators.
More recently, news reports have pointed out "convicted scammers, thieves and uncertified workers who illegally pose as licensed contractors" and profit from homeowner confusion and panic. The Palm Beach Post found that of 47 remediation and inspection companies checked, 26 were created since January 2009, and only 18 of the 47 were run by licensed contractors. In Florida, lack of legal regulation allows anyone to "remediate" drywall problems, regardless of training or professional qualifications. The most recent job of one company's owner was operating an Asian Brides website.
lawsuits claiming respiratory problems and headaches have been filed by Florida homeowners against home builders, drywall suppliers, and a Chinese drywall manufacturer.
In October 2010, New Orleans US District judge Eldon Fallon endorsed a settlement in which Knauf Group will pay for the repair of 300 homes of the 3,000 involved in one particular case. Several insurance companies are participating in the agreement. The homes are in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi, but no Texas and Virginia homes are affected by the agreement.
Home supply retailer Lowe’s has denied claims that they have sold contaminated drywall imported from China. Numerous class action lawsuits were brought before the company, and as of October 28, 2010 Lowe’s has agreed to a settlement that may award victims up to $100,000 for damages caused by contaminated drywall purchased at their stores. Lowe’s released a statement saying,
or general liability insurance
. In March 2010, a New Orleans judge ruled that the damage was covered under a home insurance policy. It is unknown whether the general liability insurance will cover the claims. The standard policy contained an exception to an exclusion for pollution which allowed coverage if the pollution came from the products of the insured, but insurers had revised the policies to incorporate a "total pollution exclusion" which has no exception. Even without a total pollution exclusion, around 2005 insurers began inserting another provision to deny construction defect claims. Whether or not insurance coverage will be granted generally depends state law and a state court's interpretation, but in this case may be determined for multiple states under the Louisiana multiple district litigation (MDL) overseen by a federal court.
On September 30, 2010, the Internal Revenue Service announced it would provide tax relief for homeowners affected by property damage caused by imported Chinese drywall. The IRS has categorized the copper corrosion from the sulfur gasses emitted by the imported drywall as “casualty loss
”, and is in a similar category to property damage after a catastrophic event, such as a hurricane. However, homeowners can only claim a deduction after repairing the affected area(s), and much controversy has arisen because of the great out-of-pocket expense to affected homeowners.
, gypsum formed as a by-product of processing phosphate
ore into fertilizer with sulfuric acid
. Phosphogypsum is radioactive due to the presence of naturally occurring uranium and radium in the phosphate ore. The substance has been banned for use in U.S construction since 1989.
Tests of drywall samples by the EPA and the Florida Department of Health showed some radioactivity, but at levels no higher than those ordinarily found in the natural environment.
Drywall
Drywall, also known as plasterboard, wallboard or gypsum board is a panel made of gypsum plaster pressed between two thick sheets of paper...
manufactured in China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
and imported by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
starting in 2001. Laboratory tests of samples for volatile
Volatility (chemistry)
In chemistry and physics, volatility is the tendency of a substance to vaporize. Volatility is directly related to a substance's vapor pressure. At a given temperature, a substance with higher vapor pressure vaporizes more readily than a substance with a lower vapor pressure.The term is primarily...
chemicals have identified emissions of the sulfurous gases carbon disulfide
Carbon disulfide
Carbon disulfide is a colorless volatile liquid with the formula CS2. The compound is used frequently as a building block in organic chemistry as well as an industrial and chemical non-polar solvent...
, carbonyl sulfide
Carbonyl sulfide
Carbonyl sulfide is the chemical compound with the formula OCS. Commonly written as COS, it is a colourless flammable gas with an unpleasant odor. It is a linear molecule consisting of a carbonyl group double bonded to a sulfur atom...
, and hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide
Hydrogen sulfide is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless, very poisonous, flammable gas with the characteristic foul odor of expired eggs perceptible at concentrations as low as 0.00047 parts per million...
. These emissions, which have the odor of rotten eggs, worsen as temperature and humidity rise and cause copper surfaces to turn black and powdery, a chemical process indicative of reaction with hydrogen sulfide. Copper pipes, wiring, and air conditioner coils are affected, as well as silver jewelry. Homeowners have reported a variety of symptoms, including respiratory problems such as asthma attacks, chronic coughing and difficulty breathing, as well as chronic headaches and sinus issues.
Background
DrywallDrywall
Drywall, also known as plasterboard, wallboard or gypsum board is a panel made of gypsum plaster pressed between two thick sheets of paper...
is a common building material typically made of a layer of gypsum
Gypsum
Gypsum is a very soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. It is found in alabaster, a decorative stone used in Ancient Egypt. It is the second softest mineral on the Mohs Hardness Scale...
-based plaster pressed between two thick sheets of paper, then dried in a kiln
Kiln
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, or oven, in which a controlled temperature regime is produced. Uses include the hardening, burning or drying of materials...
.
Foreign drywall was imported by the United States during the construction boom between 2004 and 2007. Importation was further spurred by a shortage of American-made drywall due to the rebuilding demand of nine hurricanes that hit Florida from 2004 to 2005, and widespread damage caused along the Gulf Coast by Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
in 2005. An analysis covering drywall imports since January 2006 showed that more than 550 million pounds of Chinese drywall was brought into the United States since then, enough to build 60,000 average-sized homes.
Homeowners alleging that they installed contaminated drywall have reported numerous incidents of corroding copper and other metals in their homes. The Florida Department of Health advised homeowners worried about tainted drywall to check copper tubing coils located in air conditioning and refrigeration units for signs of corrosion caused by hydrogen sulfide, as these are usually the first signs of the issue. Under normal circumstances, copper corrosion leaves it a blue/green or dark red color, whereas corrosion as a result of hydrogen sulfide exposure leaves a black ash-like corrosion. Homeowners who have verified that their home contains contaminated Chinese drywall are advised to replace any suspect drywall, as well as any potentially damaged copper electrical wiring, fire alarm systems, copper piping, and gas piping.
Affected locales
In the United States, most complaints have come from states in the Southeast, where a warm and humid climate seems to encourage the emissions.The states of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
(59%), Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
(20%), Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
(6%) and Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
(5%) made up 90% of the 3,082 cases reported to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Consumer Product Safety Commission
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission is an independent agency of the United States government created in 1972 through the Consumer Product Safety Act to protect "against unreasonable risks of injuries associated with consumer products." The CPSC is an independent agency that does...
(CPSC) as of April 2, 2010.
More than 700 complaints had been filed with the Florida Department of Health
Florida Department of Health
The Florida Department of Health is responsible for protecting the public health and safety of the residents and visitors of the State of Florida. It is a cabinet level agency of the state government, headed by a State surgeon general who reports to the Governor...
. Sources estimated that from 60,000 to 100,000 homes could be affected.
Sources
Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. Ltd., part of Knauf Gips KG is the company named as a major producer of imported Chinese drywall. While a number other Chinese companies are suspected of producing defective drywall, Knauf's name comes up most consistently, as the company prints its name on its products. Much of the other contaminated drywall has no markings, making identifying its origin difficult.Dramatic increases in new home construction, coupled with the reconstruction effort after hurricane damage led to a soaring increase in the quantity of imported Chinese drywall. Time magazine reports that more than 550 million pounds of drywall has been imported from China since 2006, including much from the known principal manufacturer of the contaminated drywall, Knauf. However, domestic drywall manufacturing averages over 15 million tons per year, leaving imported Chinese drywall with only a small portion of the market. It is estimated that this imported drywall has been used to construct approximately 60,000 homes.
From January to September 2006, 52 million pounds of Knauf drywall were unloaded in New Orleans, three-quarters of it from Knauf Tianjin, and at least 37 million pounds of Knauf drywall was shipped directly from China to Florida ports.
Drywall usually has a source printed on the back. Chinese drywall may be marked "Made in China", "China", "Knauf Tianjin", or have no marking at all. A home may have been built with drywall from several sources, American and imported.
In April 2009, home improvement stores The Home Depot and Lowe's confirmed from their suppliers that no drywall sold in their stores was imported from China.
On November 23, 2009, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
News reported that they had done a drywall study to compare American and Chinese drywall. Random samples of new American-made drywall in six U.S. cities, new Chinese-made drywall from China, and samples of drywall from five damaged U.S. homes were collected and sent to the University of Florida to be tested by a team of researchers led by professor Tim Townsend, a scientist and leading expert on the effects of drywall on the environment. The report results stated:
- "As expected, the contaminated Chinese samples gave off high levels of sulfur gases. But all but one of the U.S. samples emitted sulfur gases, as well - not at levels as high as the defective Chinese product, but unexpected. Perhaps more surprising, "There were some American products that we tested that had higher emission than some of the new Chinese products that we tested."
Federal inquiries
Discussions began in January 2009 between the U.S. Consumer Product Safety CommissionConsumer Product Safety Commission
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission is an independent agency of the United States government created in 1972 through the Consumer Product Safety Act to protect "against unreasonable risks of injuries associated with consumer products." The CPSC is an independent agency that does...
(CPSC), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Florida officials.
In February 2009, U.S. Senator Bill Nelson
Bill Nelson
Clarence William "Bill" Nelson is the senior United States Senator from the state of Florida and a member of the Democratic Party. He is a former U.S. Representative and former Treasurer and Insurance Commissioner of Florida...
of Florida sent a letter to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the EPA, asking them to jointly investigate whether the Chinese drywall is toxic, and to determine the extent of potential damage to homes. The Consumer Product Safety Commission launched a formal investigation.
In March 2009, as concerns about the defective drywall grew, Senator Nelson of Florida and Senator Mary Landrieu
Mary Landrieu
Mary Loretta Landrieu is the senior United States Senator from the State of Louisiana and a member of the Democratic Party.Born in Arlington, Virginia, Landrieu was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana...
of Louisiana jointly introduced a resolution and bill urging the Consumer Product Safety Commission to recall Chinese-made drywall and temporarily ban its import.
In May 2009, the U. S. House of Representatives passed an amendment to the Mortgage Reform and Predatory Lending Act, HR 1728, that would require the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to study the effects of tainted Chinese drywall on foreclosure
Foreclosure
Foreclosure is the legal process by which a mortgage lender , or other lien holder, obtains a termination of a mortgage borrower 's equitable right of redemption, either by court order or by operation of law...
s and the availability of property insurance
Property insurance
Property insurance provides protection against most risks to property, such as fire, theft and some weather damage. This includes specialized forms of insurance such as fire insurance, flood insurance, earthquake insurance, home insurance or boiler insurance. Property is insured in two main...
.
In November 2009, the CPSC reported on an indoor air study comparing 41 "complaint" homes in five states with 10 control homes built around the same time. The report found a "strong association" between the imported drywall and levels of hydrogen sulfide gas and metal corrosion in the complaint homes.
Potential causes
Lab comparisons of Chinese- and American-made drywall show significantly higher levels of pyritePyrite
The mineral pyrite, or iron pyrite, is an iron sulfide with the formula FeS2. This mineral's metallic luster and pale-to-normal, brass-yellow hue have earned it the nickname fool's gold because of its resemblance to gold...
in the Chinese material. This suggests that pyrite oxidation may be the source of the sulfur compounds released by Chinese drywall.
The problems have been attributed to the use of fly ash
Fly ash
Fly ash is one of the residues generated in combustion, and comprises the fine particles that rise with the flue gases. Ash which does not rise is termed bottom ash. In an industrial context, fly ash usually refers to ash produced during combustion of coal...
in the drywall, which degrades in the presence of heat and moisture; although United States' drywall uses fly ash as well, the process used creates a cleaner final product.
According to a 2010 laboratory study, one hundred percent of affected drywall samples obtained from homes located in the southeastern United States tested positive for the presence of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans, an iron and sulfur reducing bacterium. Samples of non-contaminated drywall were found to contain only minuscule levels of T. ferroxidans.
Potential Health Concerns
There are few studies exploring the effects of long-term low-level exposure to sulfur gases. However, it is believed that short-term exposure, over the period of a few hours, can result in sore throat, eye irritation, cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, and nausea. Long term exposure, over a period of weeks, is believed to cause chronic fatigue, insomnia, loss of appetite, dizziness, irritability, headaches, and memory loss.The Center for Disease Control, in collaboration with The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry released a guide indicating the residents of affected homes reported irritated and itchy eyes and skin, difficulty breathing, persistent cough, bloody noses, runny noses, recurrent headaches, sinus infection, and asthma attacks.
Scam warnings
The Florida Attorney GeneralFlorida Attorney General
The Florida Attorney General is an elected cabinet official in the U.S. state of Florida. The attorney general serves as the chief legal officer of the state....
's office has warned of several deceptive practices targeted at homeowners, including bogus test kits, home inspection offers, ozone
Ozone
Ozone , or trioxygen, is a triatomic molecule, consisting of three oxygen atoms. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic allotrope...
generators and chemical cleaners. The warnings point out that the presence of defective drywall cannot be determined by testing a home's air, or corrected by chemical sprays or ozone generators.
More recently, news reports have pointed out "convicted scammers, thieves and uncertified workers who illegally pose as licensed contractors" and profit from homeowner confusion and panic. The Palm Beach Post found that of 47 remediation and inspection companies checked, 26 were created since January 2009, and only 18 of the 47 were run by licensed contractors. In Florida, lack of legal regulation allows anyone to "remediate" drywall problems, regardless of training or professional qualifications. The most recent job of one company's owner was operating an Asian Brides website.
Lawsuits
Class actionClass action
In law, a class action, a class suit, or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued...
lawsuits claiming respiratory problems and headaches have been filed by Florida homeowners against home builders, drywall suppliers, and a Chinese drywall manufacturer.
In October 2010, New Orleans US District judge Eldon Fallon endorsed a settlement in which Knauf Group will pay for the repair of 300 homes of the 3,000 involved in one particular case. Several insurance companies are participating in the agreement. The homes are in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi, but no Texas and Virginia homes are affected by the agreement.
Home supply retailer Lowe’s has denied claims that they have sold contaminated drywall imported from China. Numerous class action lawsuits were brought before the company, and as of October 28, 2010 Lowe’s has agreed to a settlement that may award victims up to $100,000 for damages caused by contaminated drywall purchased at their stores. Lowe’s released a statement saying,
- "Lowe's entered into this agreement as part of our commitment to serving our customers, not because such a step is or has been required by law, or because drywall purchased from Lowe's has been proven deficient in any way."
Insurance coverage and Tax Deductions
Controversy has arisen over whether the damage will be covered under the insurance policies for home insuranceHome insurance
Home insurance, also commonly called hazard insurance or homeowner's insurance , is the type of property insurance that covers private homes...
or general liability insurance
Liability insurance
Liability insurance is a part of the general insurance system of risk financing to protect the purchaser from the risks of liabilities imposed by lawsuits and similar claims. It protects the insured in the event he or she is sued for claims that come within the coverage of the insurance policy...
. In March 2010, a New Orleans judge ruled that the damage was covered under a home insurance policy. It is unknown whether the general liability insurance will cover the claims. The standard policy contained an exception to an exclusion for pollution which allowed coverage if the pollution came from the products of the insured, but insurers had revised the policies to incorporate a "total pollution exclusion" which has no exception. Even without a total pollution exclusion, around 2005 insurers began inserting another provision to deny construction defect claims. Whether or not insurance coverage will be granted generally depends state law and a state court's interpretation, but in this case may be determined for multiple states under the Louisiana multiple district litigation (MDL) overseen by a federal court.
On September 30, 2010, the Internal Revenue Service announced it would provide tax relief for homeowners affected by property damage caused by imported Chinese drywall. The IRS has categorized the copper corrosion from the sulfur gasses emitted by the imported drywall as “casualty loss
Casualty loss
A casualty loss is a type of tax loss that is a sudden, unexpected, or unusual event. Damage or loss resulting from progressive deterioration of property through a steadily operating cause would not be a casualty loss...
”, and is in a similar category to property damage after a catastrophic event, such as a hurricane. However, homeowners can only claim a deduction after repairing the affected area(s), and much controversy has arisen because of the great out-of-pocket expense to affected homeowners.
Radioactivity concerns
Early reporting raised concerns about the presence of phosphogypsumPhosphogypsum
Phosphogypsum refers to the gypsum formed as a by-product of processing phosphate ore into fertilizer with sulfuric acid.Phosphogypsum is produced from the fabrication of phosphoric acid by reacting phosphate ore with sulfuric acid according to the following reaction:Phosphogypsum is radioactive...
, gypsum formed as a by-product of processing phosphate
Phosphate
A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a salt of phosphoric acid. In organic chemistry, a phosphate, or organophosphate, is an ester of phosphoric acid. Organic phosphates are important in biochemistry and biogeochemistry or ecology. Inorganic phosphates are mined to obtain phosphorus for use in...
ore into fertilizer with sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid is a strong mineral acid with the molecular formula . Its historical name is oil of vitriol. Pure sulfuric acid is a highly corrosive, colorless, viscous liquid. The salts of sulfuric acid are called sulfates...
. Phosphogypsum is radioactive due to the presence of naturally occurring uranium and radium in the phosphate ore. The substance has been banned for use in U.S construction since 1989.
Tests of drywall samples by the EPA and the Florida Department of Health showed some radioactivity, but at levels no higher than those ordinarily found in the natural environment.
External links
- Step-by-Step Self-Assessment Guide for signs that a home may be affected by drywall imported from China, Florida Department of HealthFlorida Department of HealthThe Florida Department of Health is responsible for protecting the public health and safety of the residents and visitors of the State of Florida. It is a cabinet level agency of the state government, headed by a State surgeon general who reports to the Governor...
- Isolation of Sulfur Reducing and Oxidizing Bacteria Found in Contaminated Drywall, International Journal of Molecular SciencesInternational Journal of Molecular SciencesInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences is an Open Access scientific journal published by MDPI. It features original articles and reviews in all areas of molecular sciences. The Journal aims at rapid publication of high quality research results while maintaining rigorous peer review process...
- Lowe's Drywall Settlement