I'm sure many of you have heard of the latest blight to our housing industry known as "chinese drywall".  First of all, do some research on your own.  There is no special place on the web or elsewhere that I get my information from.  I do my own research and you can do the same.  That being said, of course some people aren't capable of properly inspecting their house for the possible problem.  In this case an inspector can be of value.  

So what is "Chinese Drywall".  Well in this case it refers to wall board that was mined and manufactured from a couple of mines in China.  All chinese drywall isn't problematic for a couple of reasons.  First of all most of the wall board in the US wasn't/isn't made in China.  Furthermore in some cases China sourced their raw materials from many different areas (including the US) and just assembled the wallboard in China.  So not all drywall/wallboard made in China isn't "Chinese Drywall".  

On to the problems/risks.  Well there are health risks/problems reported that have been attributed to "Chinese Drywall" as well as mechanical issues.  The health problems are much more difficult to quantify and there are conflicting reports.  There is also a mechanical problem that is much easier to quantify.  Much of the problems are contributed to a very high sulfur content when mixed with moisture basically creates sulfuric acid that enhances corrosion on copper/aluminum water pipes and wiring.  This is the easiest way to find out if you have a problem.  If the bad wallboard is in the house it will show itself by above normal levels of corrosion on the AC evaporator coil and on the copper wires both in the outlets/switches and in some cases in the electrical panel.  

More information on this on the "Must read" page on this website.