Defective Drywall issue

[letterman]

They had some news on the tv last week about defective drywall that is making people sick, causing wood to decay, and ruining copper wire. Of course it's more garbage from China. China has already tried to poison us with contaminated food, now they're going to do it with building products. Personally, I think we should stop getting EVERYTHING from China. Let them rot in their own garbage.

Now that I got that off my chest, the tv news said that these homes will have to be demolished and rebuilt. Ummmmmmm, isn't that a bit extreme? It's not like the entire structure is composed of drywall. Rip out the drywall, (send it back to China), and remove all debris residue of it with Shop Vacuum cleaners. Remove all insulation. Spray everything with Kilz. Then rewire the building, and replace insulation. Then apply new drywall (made in the USA).

You cant tell me that this drywall has decayed the roof, the siding, and other parts of the structure. Whoever decided that the whole building has to be destroyed is insane !!!!

LM

[Joe]

Agree. Seems to be paranoia run amok. My theory (WAG, whatever) is that the gypsum in the Chinese drywall might come from lime used to suck up the sulfur compounds in the emissions from their coal fired power plants. With sloppy controls the resulting slurry will be improperly neutralized, so hydrogen sulfide or sulfur dioxide could be slowly released. IMO, simply replacing the source (drywall) should solve the problem since the off gassing leaves with the drywall. Collateral damage like copper corrosion would have to be remedied, of course. This is a case where a little sensible science should be done first.

Joe