Question: About a year ago my condo was remodeled, and the work included installation of some new drywall. There has been a lot of news recently about defective drywall from China that appears to be causing major problems in homes on the mainland. Was any of that drywall imported into Hawaii?

Answer: It appears none was shipped to Hawaii.

Problems with drywall imported from China have been reported in 37 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa and Puerto Rico.

“;At this time we have not had any reports or anything that said that we received any (drywall) from China”; that contained harmful chemicals, said Jeff Eckerd, radiation section supervisor with the state Department of Health's Indoor and Radiological Health Branch.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission asked to “;be apprised if we had identified any homes with Chinese-made drywall,”; he said.

Eckerd's office also has been working with the state Regulatory Industries Complaints Office to determine whether the drywall has been used anywhere in the state.

“;So far, so good,”; he said.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission received the first of 3,082 reports about problems with the Chinese drywall in December 2008, with the majority originating in Florida.

Studies have shown a link between certain Chinese drywall and corrosion of wiring, air-conditioning units and other materials. The commission also is continuing to look at long-term health and safety concerns.

Just yesterday a federal judge in New Orleans awarded seven Virginia families $2.6 million for damage caused by the Chinese drywall.

For more information, go to cpsc.gov/info/drywall/index.html.

Question: Is it legal to store boats on trailers on city streets? There seems to be an epidemic of it in Aina Haina. Some of the boats are so big they interfere with traffic flow.

Answer: If they pose a hazard, you are advised to call police at 911.

Otherwise, the boats/trailers stored on public streets are not being cited because of continued jurisdictional uncertainty.

We described the situation last year (see hsblinks.com/29i).

The problem is that the laws are not clear as to which government agency has authority to tow away “;abandoned”; boats/trailers unless they are creating a hazard or blocking a driveway or fire hydrant.

The term “;abandoned”; is used but basically, as with motor vehicles, refers to boats left on a street that aren't moved periodically (every 24 hours under the law).

State Sen. Suzanne Chun-Oakland has attempted to get the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and the city Motor Vehicle and Licensing Division to agree on which one would have jurisdiction.

She introduced two bills this session, “;one that transferred the responsibility of enforcement to the city and one that made it clear that the state had responsibility,”; she said.

Neither bill made it out of committee.

Anyone interested in pursuing this problem should contact Chun-Oakland's office “;so that we can build a concerned constituency around this issue,”; she said. That “;would be helpful should the bill be introduced again next session.”;

Write to “;Kokua Line”; at Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).