The United States government is blocking further imports of Chinese plasterboard, after a preliminary investigation found abnormally high levels of sulphur in the building material, accounting for a 'rotten egg smell' that has sparked complaints.
However, the US government investigation is still undecided whether the plasterboard, or drywall as it is known in the US, is hazardous to human health as claimed.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has received about 1,900 complaints from residents in 30 states on the mainland-made plasterboard, a building material used in walls. Some residents living in homes with Chinese plasterboard complained of itchy eyes and skin, breathing difficulties, coughing, bloody noses and asthma, as well as corrosion of electrical wiring and air conditioners, according to the commission's website.
The commission was working closely with the US Department of Homeland Security to identify and stop imports of mainland plasterboard, said commission chairman Inez Tenenbaum. 'We have identified hundreds of thousands of stockpiled boards and we have sent notice to the warehouses where they are stored.'
The largest Chinese exporters of plasterboard to the US include subsidiaries of China National Building Material, a state-owned building material producer, and Knauf Tianjin Plasterboard, a Chinese subsidiary of Germany's Knauf. More than 100 lawsuits in the US have been filed against these exporters.
'We are talking to Congressional and White House officials about possible legislation and other means of helping families struggling with this issue,' Tenenbaum added.