chinese drywall and electronic components

[kisrum]

Does anyone know of an electronics forum or industry group that would be discussing the affect of chinese (defective) drywall off-gassing specifically regarding electronic components? This as opposed to it's affects on wiring or air conditioning coils. Such as TVs, DVD-BluRay, alarm systems, anything with a circuit board? I'm tasked with figuring out how insurance companies should treat these components in a contaminated house.

Any opinions/observations welcome.

For those of you not in the US, we have drywall (gypsum wall board) that is gassing off carbon disulfide, carbonyl sulfide, and hydrogen sulfide at the part per billion level, ruining copper air conditioner parts and copper wiring in general.

Almost posted to hardware, but was afraid I'd get kicked over here anyway.

Thanks.

[Poppa_Meth]

Check out www.contractortalk.com for forums pertaining to many areas of the construction industry.

[bendixG15]

Does anyone know of an electronics forum or industry group that would be discussing the affect of chinese (defective) drywall off-gassing specifically regarding electronic components? This as opposed to it's affects on wiring or air conditioning coils. Such as TVs, DVD-BluRay, alarm systems, anything with a circuit board? I'm tasked with figuring out how insurance companies should treat these components in a contaminated house.

Any opinions/observations welcome.

For those of you not in the US, we have drywall (gypsum wall board) that is gassing off carbon disulfide, carbonyl sulfide, and hydrogen sulfide at the part per billion level, ruining copper air conditioner parts and copper wiring in general.

Almost posted to hardware, but was afraid I'd get kicked over here anyway.

Thanks.

For the "quick scan" readers, The reference is for defective Chinese made drywall only and not drywall made in the US.

[kisrum]

Thanks.

[Tearren]

I would be more concerned about the potential for asbestos or other harmful properties to the human body.

[kisrum]

concerned about the potential for asbestos or other harmful properties to the human body

Me too, of course. But what I'm tasked with is finding a basis for keeping or disposing of electronics that have been exposed to this, and defending the decision to insurance companies. Copper wire in wall cavities slowly turns to charcoal, so what happens to circuit boards and LCD screens? no one seems to know yet. Maybe IEEE has some ideas.

[zzyzzx]

The homeowners insurance companies should deny the claims and tell the homeowners to sue the builders. Homeowners insurance is not a warranty against builders defects.

Now if you are the builders insurance company, then that's another story.

[kisrum]

The homeowners insurance companies should deny the claims and tell the homeowners to sue the builders.

That's already happened, but there still has to be a remediation protocol to determine the basis for the cost of the lawsuit. Rules of thumb abound, such as, ripping and replacing all the drywall will cost approximately a third of the value of the house. But what no one is touching is the discussion of consumer electronics, still under warranty, that happen to wind up in these houses. Are they at risk for early failure? Probably. Fire hazard? Who knows.

[Tearren]

This seems like it is going to be very involved and you are going to have to hire an outside consultant / specialist.

Since some of the chemicals occur in nature and in the atmosphere, you are going to have to determine the amount above what occurs in nature, lets call it 'Delta'. Then determine the effect of 'Delta' on the electronics. The effects to consider would be...

How much degradation has occured?
How are the measurements of degradation calculated? (Method/ formula will need to be agreed upon by all parties)
What is the remaining lifespan of the electronics / equipment involved?

If for a business, accounting will probably have to be involved...
Are the assets expensed or are they being carried on the books?
What method will be used to determine the remianing useful lifespan of computers and expensed electronic equipment? (Will once again, need to be agreed upon by all parties involved). If purchased after a certain year, computers and most electronics should have been expensed if handled properly.
How much have the assets already been depreciated?
The cost of the air condition has probably been 'rolled' into the cost of the building, how is this going to be determined?
What is the difference between the remaining useful lifespan and the depreciated value of assests?

and The cost/benefit of replacing the electronics versus reimbursing for the degradation?

These questions are just a start, this is not going to be a simple assignment.