Near the banks of the Yangtze River in central China's Wuhan area, raw phosphogypsum is spread over 20 acres and is packed 65 feet deep into the ground.
August 5, 2009
Radioactive Drywall
It's banned by the EPA, But it still made its way, Be sure you didn't install Radioactive drywall!
Dr. Phosphogypsum I Presume
In 2006, as a result of an American housing boom, Hurricane Katrina, and the inability of U.S. manufacturers to meet demands, Chinese exports of drywall jumped 17-fold. Unfortunately, most Chinese drywall manufacturers use a cheap and unrestricted radioactive industrial waste byproduct called phosphogypsum. Only recently has this become a topic of concern when U.S. homeowners began noticing foul odors seeping from walls and reported corrosion to their air conditioners, mirrors, electrical outlets, and jewelry. Although preliminary tests have been inconclusive, here's what we know so far:
In 1989, the EPA banned phosphogypsum for U.S construction because it contains radium, which can lead to a higher risk of lung cancer.
China is absolutely littered with huge phosphogypsum dumpsites. A top manager at a Chinese supplier of gypsum-processing equipment estimates that 80% of Chinese drywall makers use phosphogypsum.
According to Chinese customs' statistics, in 2006 Chinese exports of drywall to the U.S. totaled a record 503 million pounds valued at more than $25 million. That's enough drywall for 32,000 American homes.
No U.S. inspection or mandatory testing requirements exist for imported drywall.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has received more than 608 incident reports from 21 states and the District of Columbia, with most coming from Florida, Louisiana, and Virginia.
