Scientific evidence validates quality of
National Gypsum wallboard
Today, National Gypsum again stated that there is no valid scientific evidence linking its wallboard to the problems associated with defective Chinese drywall.
Commenting on a suit filed in Federal Court in Miami, FL, the company, which has been in business nearly 85 years, said it would vigorously defend its reputation, its brands, its products and the integrity of its employees.
George and Brenda Brincku of Alva, FL, along with Apolinar and Lydia Garcia of Cape Coral, filed the suit this week, alleging wallboard produced by National Gypsum has caused blackening and corrosion of copper and “rotten egg” odors in their homes.
Extensive testing of wallboard from the Brincku home by a third-party engineering firm confirms the problems in the home are not caused by National Gypsum wallboard, nor are they caused by other domestically produced wallboard in the home. National Gypsum has not yet investigated the Garcia home.
“Our company has never imported, rebranded, or distributed wallboard made in China,” said Jerry Carroll, senior vice president, Manufacturing and Engineering. “None of the raw materials used to manufacture our wallboard are produced in China.
“National Gypsum Company plants have produced wallboard in the United States for over 84 years and in Florida, the hardest hit state, for over 45 years with none of the problems exhibited by Chinese wallboard. One in every four homes in the United States contains National Gypsum drywall.”
The Brinckus agreed to allow Packer Engineering, an international engineering firm engaged by National Gypsum, to inspect their home in early 2009 and take samples from the wallboard in their house for laboratory testing. In publicized reports, the Brinckus said all of their wallboard came from National Gypsum. The engineers actually found wallboard from other manufacturers in the Brincku home, not just National Gypsum products.
Also, the Brinckus claimed that a test performed at MIT showed the National Gypsum wallboard to contain 50% cellulose (paper), and that it was therefore defective. In fact, Packer confirmed that the sample tested at MIT was not National Gypsum’s product at all, but was produced by another manufacturer.
Packer conducted performance tests of the wallboard samples from the Brincku home, including both National Gypsum’s and the other manufacturers’ board samples. The tests were designed to try to duplicate the blackening of copper such as was found in the Brincku home. The results of those tests showed that none of the wallboard samples caused such blackening even in the extreme conditions of laboratory testing, with temperature and humidity conditions far more severe than in any home setting. Rigorous scientific analysis of the ingredients in the wallboard samples also revealed only normal gypsum drywall components.
Scientists studying the corrosive Chinese wallboard problem reported at a symposium sponsored by the Florida Department of Health in November 2009 that the “marker” for defective, corrosive wallboard is “elemental sulfur”. Stated simply, if the board contains detectable levels of elemental sulfur it can release gasses that will cause blackening and corrosion of copper and “rotten egg” odors, but if elemental sulfur is not present it does not do so. Packer’s scientific tests of the wallboard taken from the Brincku home did not detect any elemental sulfur.
Based on those tests and the other tests they performed on the samples, Packer concluded that none of the wallboard samples from the Brincku home could have caused any of the negative characteristics observed in their home.
While National Gypsum wallboard is not part of the problem associated with Chinese-produced wallboard or symptoms of the type reportedly caused by such wallboard, the company is continuing to work with consumers, customers, and government agencies to provide information and assist in the efforts to find a solution.
About National Gypsum
National Gypsum is a fully integrated manufacturer and supplier of building products used worldwide. Primary emphasis is on Gold Bond® BRAND gypsum board; ProForm® BRAND drywall finishing products; PermaBase® BRAND cement board products; e2XP® Extended Exposure fiberglass mat exterior products; and an XP® family of abuse, impact, mold and moisture resistant products and SoundBreak XP®, an acoustically enhanced gypsum board.
January 14, 2010
Nancy Spurlock
Director, Corporate Communications
704/365-7556
nhspurlock@nationalgypsum.com
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