37 Is Mother Nature out to Get You? Medical Geology Issues in the Mid-Continent

Tuesday, 13 April 2010
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Compton Ferry

A MEDICAL GEOLOGY ISSUE: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF DRYWALL

Paper number: 37-3
Program: Theme Sessions
Time: 8:30 AM – 8:45 AM

Authors

Abstract

Historically, drywall has not been a health hazard in America. Since Hurricanes Wilma and Katrina in 2004 and 2005, rebuilding in 2006 and 2007 with drywall materials that were not native to America have potentially reacted with humid conditions creating corrosion of copper electrical wires and possible health concerns. At the date of this writing, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has received 2,775 reports regarding corrosion of metal or health symptoms related to the presence of drywall produced in China. The incident reports have been submitted from 36 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Florida has had the most reports (59%), with Louisiana (21%), Mississippi (6%), Alabama (5%), Virginia (3%) and other states (6%) following. These other states include Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Three areas of observation have been reported, as recorded by CPSC reports: 1) a “rotten egg” smell within the houses, 2) health concerns related to irritated and itchy eyes and skin, difficulty breathing, persistent cough, bloody noses, runny noses, recurrent headaches, sinus infection, and asthma attacks, and 3) blackened and corroded metal components in the homes, with frequent component replacements in air conditioning units.

Raw materials and the manufacturing process of drywall will be discussed, as well as chemistry, mineralogy, and microscopy comparing and distinguishing between various drywalls using geological techniques.