Oct 8 2009, 10:36AM
The (Not So) Great Walls of China
The New York Times reports today that drywall imported from China and used in newly built homes in the U.S. emits fumes that can lead to headaches, nose bleeds and other nasty symptoms. Apparently, the fumes also corrode and/or turn "every piece of metal indoors" black.
The Times goes on: "While tainted Chinese imports like toothpaste, pet food and baby formula have been quickly removed from store shelves, drywall is installed throughout homes and does not lend itself to a quick fix."
The Times was rather late to this story. Last spring the EPA tested a batch of Chinese made drywall and found it emitted not only sulfur, but also excessive amounts of strontium compounds.
Chinese-made drywall is used in American homes because it is cheaper than American- made drywall. That is the one and only reason. But this incident leads to a question: What shortcuts are required to make a product as heavy as drywall so cheaply that it can compete in this country on price even after being shipped halfway around the globe?
Photo Credit: Flickr Users exfordy and Bone.P7
Ellen Ruppel Shell
Umm maybe just comparative advantage?
A bump in the road for the Chinese.
A prediction: China will fix this much faster than our lame FDA and other corporate-bought agencies.
Cargo shipped by sea is not limited by weight. I suppose theoretically a cargo (?spent uranium) could be so heavy that only a small amount of it would lower a ship to it waterline but drywall doesn't seem likely to do so. When I sold building materials (long ago when dinosaurs still roamed) the US product weighed 64lb/sheet (4x12) of 1/2inch sheetrock. The limitation weight would play in the distribution would be the 18wheelers that carry it from the ship to the retail outlet. Do you have a comparison weight for the Chinese product that would be useful in calculating the amount per truckload? Or was this post just dreamed up over the coffee pot this morning?
China: work hard, in dangerous conditions, making a cheaper but inferior product. Die young.
United States of America: work hard, in somewhat safe conditions, making a superior product. Die old but poor, because your job has gone to China because price really counts and quality ain't worth a nickel.
Cheaply-made products are literally killing us.