Senators seek ban on Chinese-made drywall

WASHINGTON, April 2 (UPI) -- Two U.S. senators are seeking an interim ban on certain Chinese-made drywall and a federal class-action lawsuit has been filed against a Chinese drywall maker.

The bill by Sens. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Mary Landrieu, D-La., seeks to recall the drywall believed to be emitting "rotten egg" odors and causing unusual air conditioner problems in homes in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Virginia.

The bill also asks the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to study at least 10 drywall samples imported from China from 2004-07 and used in U.S. residential dwellings.

The agency said in February it was investigating complaints about Chinese drywall, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The class-action lawsuit against manufacturer Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. Ltd. of Tianjin, a Chinese manufacturing city, and exporter Rothchilt International Ltd. of the Chinese port city of Ningbo, claims toxic chemicals emanate from the drywall.

The chemicals have damaged houses, fixtures and personal property, rendering 60,000 homes in 13 mostly Sun Belt states unsafe and uninhabitable, the lawsuit alleges.

Florida's health department said Chinese drywall it tested last month did give off a sulfur smell when exposed to heat, while a similar U.S.-made drywall sample didn't, the Sun Sentinel newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. reported.

The agency said it needed to conduct further tests to determine if the Chinese wallboard posed a health threat.

Reports of problem drywall first surfaced in Florida in January.

Some homeowner lawsuits allege that builders knew the drywall was defective, the Sun Sentinel said.