The drywall in question contains a naturally occurring allotrope of elemental sulfur— orthorhombic cyclooctasulfur (S₈). Columbia Analytical has developed two novel techniques to analyze for S₈ in drywall:

1. GC/ECD Test (Gas Chromatography/Electron Capture Detection)
2. GC/MS Test (Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry)

The GC/ECD test is a robust, low-cost option that allows clients to screen a large volume of drywall samples quickly for S₈. Because drywall used in home construction can be from mixed sources, submission of multiple samples from one suspect home may be done to reduce the risk of false negative results. Roughly 5g (approximately 2”x2”) of bulk drywall material is all that is required for the GC/ECD analysis. Results are reported in units of mg/kg. A positive result above 10 mg/kg is indicative of corrosive drywall, according to the Florida Department of Health’s Case Definition (12-18-09) for Drywall Associated Corrosion in Residences.

Cyclooctasulfur molecule
structure, S₈

The GC/MS test may be performed as confirmation of the GC/ECD test and/or for projects where test results may be used in a court of law. Both the GC/ECD and the GC/MS tests offer comparable sensitivity for elemental sulfur. Several leading researchers, including research & development staff at Columbia Analytical’s Simi Valley laboratory, have concluded that elemental sulfur is a unique and reliable marker compound for corrosive drywall.

Read more about the Elemental Sulfur Test...

Researchers at Columbia Analytical have developed an innovative chamber test procedure for the measurement of hydrogen sulfide at ultra low levels in suspect drywall. Hydrogen sulfide is a contributor to copper pipe corrosion and has a characteristic “rotten egg” smell with an extremely low odor threshold.

Chromatogram from Gas Chromatography/Sulfur Chemiluminescence Detector (GC/SCD) Analysis of Chinese Drywall Chamber Sample (1 mL injection of 1L chamber containing 50g defective Chinese drywall, incubated for 48 hours at 37ºC.)

A jar test is used to visually document the phenomenon of copper corrosion in the presence of test drywall samples. A copper tube is placed in the jars with the drywall sample.