Real Estate: Imported Drywall Not Radioactive
It never ends — there’s always some bizarre rumor regarding houses and radioactivity. The latest one concerns the idea that drywall is somehow emitting dangerous levels of radiation.
Although skeptics and conspiracy theorists will not be comforted, the government says that such rumors are mush.
Indeed, the government has now built a Drywall Information Center. While the site is clear regarding radioactivity, other issues are addressed less directly in part because studies are still underway. Still, you can find some useful information on the site if you have such symptoms as “irritated and itchy eyes and skin, difficulty in breathing, persistent cough, bloody noses, runny noses, recurrent headaches, sinus infection, and asthma attacks” AND if these symptoms seem to lessen when you leave the property.
The radioactivity statement is re-posted below.
CPSC Press Statement Regarding Drywall and Phosphogypsum
Testing conducted by federal and state agency radiation laboratories found no radiation safety risk to families in homes built with manufactured drywall.
Responding to recent news accounts about the possibility of imported drywall containing radioactive phosphogypsum, federal and state agency radiation laboratories analyzed multiple samples of drywall obtained by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Florida Department of Health (FLDOH). Twenty-one samples were analyzed from homes and manufacturers of drywall. Seventeen were obtained by CPSC from manufacturers and suppliers in multiple states, and four were obtained by FLDOH from homes exhibiting copper corrosion, odors and occupant complaints. Results of the phosphogypsum testing showed levels that do not pose a radiation safety risk to families. FLDOH’s Radiation Laboratory and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
National Air and Radiation Environmental Laboratory (NAREL) analyzed the samples for evidence of phosphogypsum contamination. Evaluation of the analysis by a federal and state technical team of scientists from CPSC, EPA, FLDOH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, and Virginia Department of Health has concluded that the samples had no elevated levels of radioactivity. The levels were comparable to “background– levels found in soil, brick and concrete.
Federal and state scientists believe that imported and domestically-manufactured drywall associated with these samples does not pose a radiological concern to consumers.
Intensive investigative efforts to find answers and solutions to the drywall issue are continuing on multiple tracks.
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