Hoping to put the pressure on Chinese companies that sold tainted drywall to U.S. builders, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a list of the 10 worst drywall samples and the companies that made them. The action came just as U.S. and Chinese authorities were involved in Strategic and Economic Dialogue meetings in Beijing during which U.S. officials pressed the Chinese government to arrange for the offending drywall companies to meet with the CPSC.

``It is our hope that the release of the names of the companies of the manufacturers today serves as motivation for these companies to agree to come to the table for direct discussions with CPSC,'' said agency spokesman Scott Wolfson.

The companies listed were those whose drywall emitted high levels of hydrogen sulfide in testing conducted for the CPSC by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Some of the Chinese drywall had emission rates of hydrogen sulfide 100 times greater than non-Chinese drywall samples. "Homeowners who have problem drywall in their homes are suffering greatly", said CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. "I appeal to these Chinese drywall companies to carefully examine their responsibilities to U.S. families who have been harmed and do what is fair and just."

Of the companies listed, only Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin has responded to lawsuits. The company has also settled with at least one builder, offering money to cover some of the cost of repairs to homes, according to the Miami Herald.

The CPSC has received 3,296 reports from residents in 37 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, and Puerto Rico who believe the corrosion of certain metal components in their homes or their health symptoms are related to problem drywall. State and local authorities have received similar reports.

The problem is believed to be much bigger, however, with some observers estimating that 200,000 or more homes contain the suspect Chinese drywall, much of it located in Louisiana and Florida in structures rebuilt or repaired after Hurricane Katrina and other major storms.
 
The following list identifies the drywall samples with the highest emissions of hydrogen sulfide, from highest to lowest, along with the manufacturer of the drywall and the year it was made.

• Knauf Plasterboard (Tianjin): (year of manufacture 2005) China
• Taian Taishan Plasterboard: (2006) China
• Shandong Taihe Dongxin: (2005) China
• Knauf Plasterboard (Tianjin): (2006) China
• Taian Taishan Plasterboard: (2006) China
• Taian Taishan Plasterboard: (2006) China
• Shandong Chenxiang GBM (C&K Gypsum Board): (2006) China
• Beijing New Building Materials (BNBM): (2009) China
• Taian Taishan Plasterboard: (2009) China
• Shandong Taihe Dongxin: (2009) China

Other Chinese drywall samples—some produced by the same companies but in different years—had low or no detectable emissions of hydrogen sulfide. The domestically-manufactured samples emitted little or none of the toxin.
 
Last month, the CPSC and the Department of Housing and Urban Development recommended that homes with tainted Chinese drywall be stripped down to the studs. Left unsaid was who would pay for the work. The CPSC has spent more than $5 million investigating the chemical nature and the chain of commerce of problem drywall and offers consumer guidance in its Drywall Information Center.