by Brianna Crandall — February 21, 2011—The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) is calling on the federal government to expand its epidemiological and medical research on the potential health effects of corrosive drywall (CDW).
The request is in response to AIHA’s review of the Summary of State Health Department Reviews of Deaths Reported to and Investigated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Related to Exposure to Imported Drywall released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Environmental Health on January 3, 2011.
The CDC’s findings indicated that 11 reported deaths of occupants in homes with corrosive drywall (CDW) were not linked to environmental exposures. The CDC’s review of deaths reported to and investigated by the CPSC stated that exposure to imported drywall was not believed to be a contributing factor in the 11 deaths. The CDC further noted that these findings cannot be used to draw broad conclusions about the health impact of residing in or visiting homes with imported drywall.
In October of 2010, AIHA published a White Paper on Corrosive Drywall describing several gaps in previously presented federal research. The AIHA white paper references preliminary results of a medical study which found that some occupants with pre-existing conditions had short-term irritation effects possibly caused by CDW emissions. The physicians reporting these data considered the findings preliminary and recommended further research.
AIHA recommends more focused epidemiological and medical research be conducted on the potential of health effects of CDW and urges the federal government to address this issue as soon as possible so as to prevent any future health problems that might be associated with imported drywall.
