Subject: Urgent Advise Wanted: Sheet Rock - Good or Bad??

From: EFMonaco <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 11:41:22 -0400

Eric,
Contrary to another post, using or not using sheet rock depends on how much
of a purist you are.  Sheetrock is made mostly of gypsum rock fibers, which
are fairly inert.  True, there are some quantities of toxic chemicals in
the glue that holds the paper to the rock, so I wouldn't ingest it
directly.  However, the microorganisms in the soil will probably break that
down over time, much the same way they break down the toxics in newspaper
or cardboard.  Since you're using it in an orchard, there is time for that
to occur.  I have used gypsum board waste before in gardens and in and
around mulched areas.  Admittedly, I haven't done the science to measure
soil toxicity levels or plant uptake.  So much to do.
Gene Monaco

>URGENT ADVICE WANTED:

Anyone know what's in sheet rock (aka: drywall, plasterboard, etc.)???

I have a chance to rescue some sheet rock from a trip to the local landfill
tomorrow morning (Pacific Time).  Is there any reason I should not break it
up and scatter it around my apple orchard?  I know there's calcium in it,
but are there other things in it I _don't_ want in my orchard?

Any information appreciated!!

Eric Storm
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From: "John Abdon" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 16:36:17 -0700

I lived in Cody, Wyoming, USA where a sheet rock factory was producing large
quantities of the stuff. Horrible! At certain points of the process, the air
quality in the region became almost unbreathable - and I do not have any
known lung condition. And you should see the open pit mines that the gypsum
comes from. Yuk. Additionally, the product is very dense and therefore
places an inordinate pressure on the global transportation network. Please
use something else.

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----- Original Message -----
From: EFMonaco <[email-masked]>
To: permaculture <[email-masked]>
Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 1999 8:41 AM
Subject: Urgent Advise Wanted: Sheet Rock - Good or Bad??

Eric,

Eric Storm
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From: stephan leimroth <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 07:47:08 -0700 (PDT)

eric,

depending on rainfall in your area, the gypsum may
have too many salts to apply it to your soil.  gypsum
is properly calcium sulfate, but there are always more
salts (like sodium) in drywall.  if salt build-up is a
problem in your soil, be careful applying the drywall
to it.

stephan.
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From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 09:47:41 EDT

In a message dated 7/27/99 4:45:24 PM, [email-masked] writes:

<<Eric,
Gene Monaco>>

I have to agree with Gene on this one.   I would be more concerned with the 
age of the sheet rock and possible heavy metals that formerly were used in 
paints.   This is excellent sheet mulch.   Keep it well back from treetrunks 
so that rodents living under it will not be so likely to strip bark in 
winter.   They won't live there long as the sheets crumble into the soil in 
time.  

I hear the same warnings about the  dread toxins in cardboard box glue used 
in sheet mulch.  While there is something to it, organic soils will break 
down most toxins much faster than soils low in organic activity.   Elemental 
toxins, like lead, mercury, arsenic, etc., cannot be broken down (except in a 
nuclear reaction, not something we promote in our gardens :-)  )

For Mother Earth, Dan Hemenway, Yankee Permaculture Publications (since 
1982), Elfin Permaculture workshops, lectures, Permaculture Design Courses, 
consulting and permaculture designs (since 1981), and annual correspondence 
courses via email.  Copyright, 1998, Dan & Cynthia Hemenway, P.O. Box 52, 
Sparr FL 32192 USA  Internships. [email-masked]  

We don't have time to rush.

A list by topic of all Yankee Permaculture titles may be found at 
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From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 10:43:23 EDT

In a message dated 7/28/99 12:36:46 AM, [email-masked] writes:

<<I lived in Cody, Wyoming, USA where a sheet rock factory was producing large
use something else.>>

I don't see where salvaging gypsum board from the dump increases the 
motivation to mine and manufacture.   Once the damage is done, it makes sense 
to get whatever value there is from it.   It is like throwing food in the 
dump because it wasn't grown organically.   

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From: "John Abdon" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 13:58:25 -0700

True enough. My response was certainly incomplete, and way too emotional.
And for sure we should keep the stuff out of the dump for many reasons.

The science of good radiation moderators is kind of fun to examine. There
are not very many good radiation moderators. A Boolean search for "gypsum"
near "radiation" produced 300 to 400 hits on almost all the common engines.
Just a few for reference :

At 'Nuclear Garden'
(http://www.alamut.com/proj/98/nuclearGarden/u_word.html) "Uranium-238 is
found in higher than average concentrations in many of our common building
materials: gypsum (gipsplaat), granite, sandstone and cement."

Half way down the page at 'Radioactivity in Nature'
(http://www.sph.umich.edu/group/eih/UMSCHPS/natural.htm) under the heading
'Natural Radioactivity in Building Materials' again gypsum stands out
(especially in the waste product).

And this alarming comment found at 'Environmental Building News'
(http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/Greenbuilding/Radon.html): "Personally,
I'd be most concerned about drywall. It can contain gypsum made from the
gunk that you get by scrubbing sulphur in the smoke stacks of coal-burning
power plants with lime (calcium
sulphate). -------------------------------------------------------- Norbert
Senf

Currently, gypsum is being used in various ways as a nuclear moderator: the
calcium is great at absorbing radiation. So various industries (and the
natural environment) 'deposite' chunks of radiation in the gypsum 'bank'.
Take some non-radioactive gypsum, leave it around awhile, and presto! It's
radio active! Trouble is, many of the decay series for particles lighter
than Iron end up as Radon gas. Ouch!

The litany of troubles caused by proximity to gypsum suggest to leave it out
of the picture. The proper use of salvage gypsum board is to wrap other
nuclear waste with it and place it far, far away from living organisms.

Hey, just where is far, far away, anyway?

    `\\\\\\\\|||/

----- Original Message -----
From: <[email-masked]>
To: permaculture <[email-masked]>
Sent: Thursday, July 29, 1999 7:43 AM
Subject: Re: Urgent Advise Wanted: Sheet Rock - Good or Bad??

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