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US urges removal of Chinese drywall from homes

Oil spill pollutes tributary of China's Yellow River
Beijing (AFP) April 3, 2010 - A tributary of China's Yellow River has been polluted by an oil spill, state-run media reported Saturday, in the latest environmental accident to threaten the nation's drinking water. About 1,000 tonnes of oil sludge has contaminated farmland and the Luohe River in northern Shaanxi province after a recycling pool at a sewage treatment plant collapsed last Sunday, the China Daily said. More than 2,000 people have been scrambling to clean up the mess and eight containment belts have been set up downstream from the spill, the English-language newspaper said.

"At present the sludge in the river has been effectively controlled and we will make efforts to clean up the contamination in the farmland and valley," local government official Wang Hongli was quoted as saying. AFP calls to the local environmental protection bureau went unanswered. More than 30 years of unbridled economic growth have left most of China's lakes and rivers heavily polluted, while the nation's urban dwellers also face some of the world's worst air pollution.

More than 200 million Chinese currently do not have access to safe drinking water, according to government data. In January, two tributaries of the Yellow River were "seriously polluted" by an oil spill after a pipeline operated by China's largest oil producer, China National Petroleum Corp., ruptured. In that incident up to 150,000 litres of diesel spilled into the Chishui and Wei rivers.
by Staff Writers
 Washington (AFP) April 2, 2010
 US consumer watchdogs on Friday told American homeowners and business to strip buildings of Chinese drywall, which they warned could pose a safety threat.

Officials said tests had found Chinese drywall -- also known as plasterboard -- emitted dangerous levels of sulfur, which could corrode electrical wiring and gas pipes.

"Certain Chinese samples had emission rates of hydrogen sulfide 100 times greater than non-Chinese drywall samples," the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said in a joint statement.

"Based on scientific study of the problem to date, HUD and CPSC recommend consumers remove all possible problem drywall from their homes, and replace electrical components and wiring, gas service piping, fire suppression sprinkler systems, smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms."

Homes built between 2005 and 2009 chiefly in southern US states in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, were most acutely affected thanks to the large amount of imported Chinese drywall to help rebuilding efforts after the storms.

There have been over three thousand complaints about dangerous drywall in the United States alone.

In January the US government warned that metal corrosion, blackening of copper electrical wiring, or "confirmed markings of Chinese origin" could be indicators of a problem.

It added that some non-Chinese drywall was also a problem.


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FROTH AND BUBBLE
HK-listed firms 'should disclose China pollution violations'
 Hong Kong (AFP) March 31, 2010
 Hong Kong should force publicly listed companies to disclose environmental violations in their operations in China, a report said Wednesday. About 15 percent of firms listed in the financial centre have violated pollution regulations in mainland China, including famed beermaker Tsingtao Brewery Co., according to Beijing-based non-governmental organisation the Institute of Public and Environm ... read more






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