Chicago Tribune Editorial: Danger: Chinese goods

Chicago Tribune Editorial: Danger: Chinese goods
Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune
July 16, 2009
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/chi-0716edit2jul16,0,7626609.story


During the height of the housing boom, American home builders began to rely heavily on imported Chinese drywall. Domestic supplies couldn't keep up with demand, and imported drywall looked like a godsend.

It has turned into a nightmare. Chinese drywall is the suspected cause for persistent foul smells in homes, for corrosion of metals and jewelry and for respiratory problems.

The problem has been concentrated in south Florida, where the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma in 2005 prompted huge demand for building materials. But the Consumer Product Safety Commission has received complaints from hundreds of homeowners in 19 states and the District of Columbia who say they're victims. U.S. imports of Chinese drywall peaked in 2006 at 503 million pounds, enough for 32,000 homes.

The Florida Department of Health is investigating, as is the federal safety commission. At least two home builders are replacing drywall they installed, even relocating homeowners while the work is done. We're talking about a massive job here.

Buyers, beware of Chinese goods. Consumers worldwide have been reminded of this many times in recent years.

-- In 2002, the U.S. and the European Union temporarily banned the import of Chinese honey, which was laced with a widely banned antibiotic.

-- In 2006, Chinese-made cough syrup was mixed with an industrial solvent before it was shipped to Panama, where it killed at least 100 people.

-- In 2007, Chinese factories shipped toys with excessive lead, tires with faulty valve stems and pet food laced with melamine to the U.S.

-- In 2008, retailers around the world removed processed foods containing Chinese milk or milk powder from shelves after the products were found to be contaminated by melamine.

Through it all, many Chinese manufacturers have turned their backs on pleas to improve their quality control.

And now, there's the drywall debacle.

Ding Dawu, a Chinese geoscientist, told the Los Angeles Timesthat some Chinese drywall plants made their plasterboard entirely out of phosphogypsum -- a radioactive phosphorous substance that is banned in U.S. construction. One industry insider told the Times that he believed 80 percent of Chinese drywall manufacturers used phosphogypsum, which has no restrictions in China. Phosphogypsum is so abundant and cheap that it's given away to anyone who will pay hauling costs.

The Chinese drywall was far less expensive than the American product. Howard Ehrsam, a Florida-based home inspector, told ABC News that Chinese drywall sold for as little as $3 a sheet, while the price for American drywall reached $22 a sheet.

A bargain -- until you figure in the health risks and the cost of removing the shoddy, dangerous stuff.

China has yet to suffer serious consequences from the time-after-time production of bad products. But it seems inevitable that there will be consequences. Consumers don't take well to being poisoned. Chinese goods are earning a reputation for shoddiness that will be hard to shake.