var json_comments = new Array("
\"user-pic\"
TechnoDestructo
July 4, 2009 8:13 PM
Moderate | Flag for review

Round up a few company executives and government officials...eeny-meeny-miney-moe...execute one of them. PROBLEM SOLVED.

Reply
6 replies
\"user-pic\"
the_wiggle
July 6, 2009 2:26 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@TechnoDestructo: nah, make'm live in the poisonous crap.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
dbshaw
July 5, 2009 3:22 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@TechnoDestructo: Problem is in China they charge the victim the price of the bullet, and you know what kind of money grubbing asshats industry executives are, they'd probably pass the cost onto us consumers!!!!

Reply
\"user-pic\"
P_Smith
July 4, 2009 10:13 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@TechnoDestructo: All well and good, but it wouldn't surprise me if the Chinese government knew about this and took bribes to let it happen. They profit and they get to shift blame onto the \"expendable population\".

Reply
\"user-pic\"
TechnoDestructo
July 4, 2009 8:31 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@johnfrombrooklyn:

Doesn't matter...as long as a head rolls, they can pretend everything is fine.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
TechnoDestructo
July 4, 2009 8:14 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@TechnoDestructo:

Not to suggest that this is the optimal solution, just that it's probably how they're going to handle it.

Reply
","","","
\"user-pic\"
halcyondays
July 4, 2009 8:21 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

It's amazing that with how vastly bloated the Federal Government is, they still cannot protect the citizens from crap like this.

Reply
7 replies
\"user-pic\"
Beastage
July 5, 2009 4:55 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@halcyondays: take notice dude, this happened under republican watch due to lack of regulation, care to consumers/citizens, etc.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Megladon
July 5, 2009 7:23 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@halcyondays:


Might have something to do with every time the govt trys to do something good the GOP steps up and says \"and you want your government doing this?\" Apparently when the question is pissing your money away, they can only say yes, but helpful things, protecting its people, dont even go there with them.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
I Love New Jersey
July 4, 2009 8:49 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@halcyondays: And yet there are people who want even more bloat.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
jamar0303
July 5, 2009 2:54 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@I Love New Jersey: ...Wonder where the drywall in your house comes from. Enjoy!

Reply
\"user-pic\"
HiPwr
July 4, 2009 9:12 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@I Love New Jersey: More government is always the answer.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Ryfael
July 4, 2009 9:55 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@HiPwr: It's better than less goverment or you would see more toxic drywall.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
HiPwr
July 4, 2009 10:17 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Ryfael: I want the current agencies to do their jobs.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
TechnoDestructo
July 4, 2009 8:35 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@halcyondays:

Whatever happened to that equipment that was supposed to detect radioactive cargo at ports? Would this stuff be detectable? LA times says it contains radium, wiki says that's alpha, beta, AND gamma. If anything should be detectable, this stuff should.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Blueskylaw
July 5, 2009 3:25 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@TechnoDestructo:


Cat litter and granite countertops also emit radiation, but as long as \"they\" see it's only drywall, it will go through.

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
usa_gatekeeper
July 4, 2009 8:32 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I suspect this is/will be a problem to be addressed within the importing countries and not necessarily within China. Once this gets some legs (it's been on and off in the news for over a year now), I expect to see some intra-USA lawsuits.

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
Tzepish
July 4, 2009 8:35 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@TechnoDestructo: Well that would certainly make us more like China. Progress!

Reply
2 replies
\"user-pic\"
TechnoDestructo
July 4, 2009 8:37 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Tzepish:

I thought it was obvious I was talking about China.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
HiPwr
July 4, 2009 9:11 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@TechnoDestructo: It was obvious to me. They've done that very same thing before.

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
I Love New Jersey
July 4, 2009 8:49 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Can't we just end this once and for all by stopping buying dangerous crap (basically everything they produce) from China?

Reply
6 replies
\"user-pic\"
JTK
July 4, 2009 8:58 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@I Love New Jersey: Sure, the moment you stop posting racist xenophobic comments with no basis in reality.

Not everything exported and made in China is toxic just as there are plenty of US made products that have hurt people. Making comments like that just shows ignorance since for better or for worse China can make products cheaper than we can so it no longer makes sense to manufacture many things here.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Rugbydan
July 5, 2009 12:38 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@JTK: Sigh. I'd choose to stop trading with China for their blatant disregard for WTO regulations (regulations that they agreed to when they joined the WTO.), pegging their currency to the U.S. dollar to keep America constantly in a trade deficit, and the lack of human rights in their workforce.

If it was up to me, I'd tariff the crap out of any goods shipped to the U.S. by any company. I'll pay the extra 3 bucks for a T-shirt.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
PlanetExpressdelivery
July 4, 2009 11:28 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@JTK:
Ah, so it's \"racist xenophobic\" to blame China simply because their morally bankrupt politicos accept bribes that allow this crap, right?

I guess, it's \"racist xenophobic\" to hate on Rod Blagojevich too.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
bohemian
July 4, 2009 10:11 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@JTK: Replace China with any other country that lacks regulation on production of certain products. It isn't just China. We really need to stop and look at what we are not doing. We know products from China are a free for all yet we do nothing to require imports from anywhere meet any sort of standards.

The problem is ours for letting unknown products into our supposedly regulated and safe markets. Though there are tons of domestic made products that are killing people. Our system isn't safe, it is our own damn fault. Fund and demand regulatory agencies get back to doing their jobs.

BTW, this mess is yet another legacy of the GWB small govt. fiasco.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
HiPwr
July 4, 2009 9:16 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@JTK: Ah, the race card. So quickly played by the intellectually bankrupt.


It is undeniable that there has been an uptick in harmful ingrediants in products imported from China. Not all imports; but more than any other country and more than we produce domestically.


They put the date-rape drug in a children's toy, for Pete's sake!

Reply
\"user-pic\"
bohemian
July 4, 2009 10:12 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@HiPwr: A US company imported and sold the toy. They deserve some blame.
If you want to never eat fish again read up on fish and shrimp farming in Vietnam and Thailand. Ew gross.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
HiPwr
July 4, 2009 10:19 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@bohemian: I agree. If I were importing products from China, I would have them completely disected and analyzed in labratories before putting them on the market.

Reply
","","","","","","","","","","","
\"user-pic\"
WB
July 4, 2009 10:16 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I first saw complaints of funky Chinese drywall a few months ago. Each day on the way to and from work, I drive past a local drywall & ceiling tile business, and for a while their outdoor message sign read \"OUR DRYWALL IS MADE IN THE USA\".

Exacerbating the problem, since the housing market has gone bust, the builders of newer houses that are likely to have funky Chinese drywall have probably gone bankrupt and so can't be held liable.

Reply
1 replies
\"user-pic\"
usa_gatekeeper
July 5, 2009 3:48 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@WB: Then I suppose the next in line would be the distributor who sold to the contractor or builder.

Reply
","","","
\"user-pic\"
P_Smith
July 4, 2009 10:20 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

This reminds me of the urea-formaldehyde foam insulation scandal of the 1970s, and the asbestos insulation scandal of the 1980s. If you thought government regulation was lacking and lax then, you're in for a hell of a ride.


The motto of big business seems to be, \"If you don't put profit above people's lives, you're not a capitalist.\"

Reply
4 replies
\"user-pic\"
mythago
July 5, 2009 5:55 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@P_Smith: \"asbestos insulation scandal of the 1980s\"? Asbestos was in a heck of a lot more than insulation, and the litigation is STILL going on because it is STILL killing people (and it is STILL in lots of homes and buildings). And yes, the government bending over for industry was a very large reason for this problem.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
P_Smith
July 5, 2009 6:42 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@mythago: When did I say it wasn't? Or are you deliberately trying to misconstrue my meanings?

Reply
\"user-pic\"
HiPwr
July 4, 2009 10:21 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@P_Smith: This may be news to you, but China is a Communist country.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Kogenta
July 5, 2009 12:36 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@HiPwr: I think the point is that some US company had to buy and import these \"quality\" products first. China didn't just decide to start shipping drywall to the US for no reason. I don't know how much it costs to spot check shippments for dangerous items, but it's clearly cheaper to not and simply rely on the manufacturer's word.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
P_Smith
July 5, 2009 5:13 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Kogenta: You put up your glove and caught the line drive, while it went over his head.

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
Mollyg
July 4, 2009 10:43 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I dont see the radioactive part in the post...it seems to be chemically toxic.

Reply
4 replies
\"user-pic\"
Mollyg
July 4, 2009 10:47 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Mollyg: BTW...I am a nuclear engineer and the radioactive part does not make any sense.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
stre
July 9, 2009 8:07 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Mollyg: as a fellow nuclear engineer, i had to question it myself, but a little research showed that phosphogypsum actually is radioactive, though in varying amounts. there's apparently tons of the stuff in florida, but the stuff in northern florida is mild enough to use for agricultural purposes, while the stuff in central florida is 2.5 times as hot as the legal limit for agricultural use.


the radioactivity is apparently due to the naturally ocurring uranium and radium that is in it, and the levels of radioactivity change depending on how the ore was originally deposited. ocean deposits are naturally enriched with more uranium, so they are hotter, while deposits formed on land are milder.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
floraposte
July 4, 2009 11:46 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Mollyg: I was a little confused about that myself. Here's an EPA page with a little more explanation: [www.epa.gov]

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Mollyg
July 4, 2009 10:45 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Mollyg: I read the article, and it says radioactive, but I think the article may be wrong.

Reply
","","","","
\"user-pic\"
frank64
July 4, 2009 11:31 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

The terrible thing is the people whom now own these houses, who is going to take the hit? The insurance companies or the banks?

Are the whole houses basically a loss now?

Reply
1 replies
\"user-pic\"
krista
July 5, 2009 11:11 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@frank64: The entire house is not a loss - what they have to do is gut the house down to the studs and re-drywall. It is a lot of work, and a huge expense, but probably not more than half the value of the house.

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
kolacek
July 4, 2009 11:46 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Is there a shadow agency which decides when the human herd needs culling? There has to be.

Toxic pthalates have apparently been an ingredient in every single plastic toy I've ever chewed on since 1967.

Who on planet Earth doesn't know that kids put stuff in their mouths?

And Super Elastic Bubble Plastic...I think I swallowed at least a gram of that crap when my neighbor slapped me on the back.

I mean, nobody is that negligent...right?

Right???

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
I Love New Jersey
July 4, 2009 11:51 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@JTK: I'd say the same thing if it was a parade dangerous crap coming from Australia or Austria or wherever. China just happens to be the source and their corrupt and repressive regime seems not to care about the safety of their own people or anyone else. You might also want to look into the xenophobia they practise in China.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
wvFrugan
July 5, 2009 12:21 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

No blame the consumer BS from me, but we need to stop buying crap from china. I don't want a leather chair that was improperly tanned giving me rashes, a set of jumper cables that may or may not work at 3AM when 32 degrees when stranded, or a kitchen knife that will be thrown out when I'm dead because the plastic handle is cracked & cheap metal unable to hold an edge. Buy quality that lasts and never underestimate the ability of a product to fail or do harm. NEVER assume where something is made based on the Brand name as most companies today made items both at home & China with the quality being vastly different & for different price segments. For example, Woolrich is a great American company with great quality products, but do not confuse them with \"Woolrich\" items at Target: Target has purchased a license from Woolrich to use their name, then Target has stuff made in China without any input or standards from Woolrich and is crap that falls apart after a washing or two. Contact Woolrich & they run the other way after saying that they don't make that stuff & tell you to talk to Target, and Target Corporate thinks that items such as a Woolrich quilt should only last 3 months, 1 year if you get an exceptional exception. Target really is no better anymore than Wal Mart when it comes to quality, they use to be a step-up.

Reply
2 replies
\"user-pic\"
rekoil
July 5, 2009 3:53 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@wvFrugan:

I think this quote from Terry Pratchett is relevant...

The reason the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.
Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in the city on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.
But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.
This was the Captain Samuel Vimes \"Boots\" theory of socioeconomic unfairness.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
the_wiggle
July 6, 2009 2:31 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@rekoil: exactly.

personal example: could only afford KMart 3mos til fall apart flats for work for years. had to as it took YEARS to save up for a pair - yes 1 pair - of good work flats.

Reply
","","","
\"user-pic\"
EvilSquirrel
July 5, 2009 12:41 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

I work in residential HVAC and so far the manufacturers of evaporator coils are saying they are willing to replace any evaporator coils that fail because of this problem. They also have hinted though that if this turns into a widespread issue, their stance may change.

Some of the isurance companies we deal with have also sent us bulletins on this issue stating they will not cover repairs caused by this issue.

We had an issue similar to this a few years ago when supposedly household chemicals were causing evaporator coils to corrode and leak.

Reply
","","","
\"user-pic\"
quail
July 5, 2009 3:38 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

So, when buying a house or renting an apartment try to discover if any drywall work was done during the last 10 years, huh? Makes me want to buy a Scandinavian made tent and live in it for a few years until all of this sorts itself out.

Reply
","","","","
\"user-pic\"
mythago
July 5, 2009 5:57 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

If you're bothered by \"excessive litigation\", thank the government agencies that let this crap get used in the US. Lawsuits are what happen when nothing is done to prevent people from getting harmed in the first place.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
Julie Ann Fan
July 5, 2009 5:57 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

I think it should be up to the construction company to build safe homes to sell so people can actually live in them. Trying to cut cost so they cam maximize their profits is unethical.

Reply
2 replies
\"user-pic\"
econobiker
July 6, 2009 1:51 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Julie Ann Fan: I guess the builders are off the hook since they probably had the home buyers sign for manditory binding arbitration clauses...

Reply
\"user-pic\"
narf
July 5, 2009 4:08 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Julie Ann Fan: To them, the home is safe. If it weren't for building code standards and local inspectors, then I'd really worry.

Many construction companies will perform all sorts of shortcuts vs. specifications in order to maximize their profits. It's unethical alright ... and sadly, the American way.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
Telekinesis123
July 5, 2009 6:13 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

Wow, the person who taped that ceiling is a serious amateur. Know that if your taping job looks like that the person you hired doesn't know what their doing.

Regarding the story I haven't sen any of this drywall in Canada yet, it's all Gyproc and made in Canada. This is probably just a large developer trying to save a few pennies by buying this cheap drywall. I think the chances of a small renovator using this stuff is small. As is usually the case its the large companies with the most money who are the most capable of using quality products which are the most likely to use sub standard cheap products.

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
onereeves
July 5, 2009 2:01 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Have a friend with a newer condo in Florida who had Chinese drywall. He said they noticed a rotten egg smell shortly after taking possession Fortunity for him the builder took care of replacing it. It seems only two out of about one hundred condos had the Chinese drywall. The builder took responability as they are one of the few still building down there.

Reply
","","","
\"user-pic\"
narf
July 5, 2009 4:03 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Perhaps it's a good thing I'm buying an older house instead of a cookie cutter one built in the last couple years. At least the defects aren't from the builder ...

Reply
","","","
\"user-pic\"
Batwaffel
July 5, 2009 5:22 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

This is a bit of a concern because I just bought drywall a couple months ago from Lowes in PA that has been sitting in my garage while the bathroom is being redone. How do I tell exactly where this stuff was made at?

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
bwcbwc
July 5, 2009 6:58 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

The title on this article is a bit flaky. All of the symptoms and stuff mentioned in the cited article refer to chemical reactions and corrosion. Only the title of the Consumerist article mentions radioactivity. Not all carcinogens and health hazards are radioactive. In the case of the drywall we're dealing with stuff like hydrogen sulfide that turns into sulfuric acid when it encounters moisture (hence why this problem is turning up first in Florida), including in your lungs.

NOT radioactivity.

Reply
2 replies
\"user-pic\"
stre
July 9, 2009 8:14 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@TechnoDestructo: while i agree with your RTFA sentiment, bwcbwc is somewhat correct. the original article was quick to mention \"radioactive\" but waited until almost the end of the article to note that detectable levels of radium or uranium were NOT found in the suspect homes. and that in fact, the drywall suppliers for those homes mined gypsum from areas where \"ores have unusually high levels of sulphur compounds\". and we wonder why the houses started smelling like rotten eggs?


there is definitely some sensationalism at work here.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
stre
July 9, 2009 8:14 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@stre: ...*radioactive* radium or uranium...

Reply
","","","","","","
\"user-pic\"
Fran Hagler
July 9, 2009 3:45 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

Is there some way to test if your drywall is \"Chinese Drywall\" or not? Does it just smell like sulfur? or can you test it somehow?

Reply
","","","","
\"user-pic\"
stre
July 9, 2009 8:29 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

i think this \"radioactive\" stuff is a bit overboard. while i'm sure some chinese suppliers have used phosphogypsum to make drywall (as it says in the article), if you continue to read you'll notice that tests have shown there is no radioactive uranium or radium in the houses that had trouble and were tested. yet somehow these tests are deemed \"inconclusive\". also, while radiation does indeed damage materials, you wouldn't see corrosion as it's commonly understood. you would get brittling and cracking eventually, but certainly not in 5-10 years at the radiation levels found in phosphogypsum. plus, uranium and radium don't smell like sulfur, so where's the connection there? oh that's right, there's a single sentence in the article indicating that the gypsum (NOT phosphogypsum) used in these houses' drywall sheets was actually mined in an area of china where the ore has unusually high levels of sulfur compounds.


while i'm 100% positive there are houses in america that have slightly radioactive walls (a consumer issue in and of itself), the corrosion and smell we're seeing here can't be attributed to them.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
Joshua Sophy
July 10, 2009 6:20 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

Here is information on the Chinese drywall debacle in Chesapeake, Virginia: [www.newsinferno.com]

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
zandar
July 10, 2009 3:54 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

\"Huge phosphogypsum dump sites can be seen in all corners of China\"

Ye gods, is there any part of China that isn't a toxic waste dump? It boggles the mind.

And to think they are the most populous country in the world. It's a freaking human rights issue. Why isn't Amnesty International on the case?

Reply
");