SEBRING — The decision of U.S. construction companies to use millions of pounds of Chinese made drywall during the housing boom continues to haunt those living in the houses, including at least one family in Highlands County.

Since building materials were in short supply, some contractors in the southeast turned to the product from China as a cheap replacement

Ryan and Mary Willis had their house constructed in 2006 with the defective drywall, and after three years continue to suffer because of the manufacturers mistake.

“(We) have experienced ongoing sinus irritation, sinus infections, headaches, and burning eyes. When sulfur gas comes into contact with moisture it transforms to sulfuric acid which irritates the mucous membranes of the sinuses, eyes, and throat,” Willis said.

Additionally, the defective drywall gives off fumes that can corrode copper pipes, blacken jewelry and silverware, and effect electrical wiring.

“We have had the coils in our air conditioning unit replaced three times now,” said Mary Willis in a recent e-mail.

But Mary and Ryan have discovered that no one wants to take the responsibility for the defective product.

“American Tradition, our homeowner’s insurance company, denied the our claim. The home builder’s insurance company, Western World, wrote a letter to the supplier’s insurance company requesting that Auto-Owners Insurance defend and indemnify the builder, effectively passing the buck,” she wrote.

Willis did recently get Auto-Owners Insurance — which represents Horvath Drywall, the Highlands County company that distributed the drywall — out to look at their problem, but she is not hopeful about the outcome.

“When the company phoned to set up a home inspection they started the conversation with ‘our take on it is that this a manufacturer’s defect, but we still have to process the claim.’ The Field Claim Representative arrived at the our home with her manager in tow. They refused to sit down, took less than 10 digital pictures, stayed only 20 minutes, and were in such a hurry to leave that they forgot their file of paperwork in the home! We actually had to mail the forgotten claim paperwork back to the Auto-Owner’s Insurance Company. Again, while at the home the claim representative stated that ‘this is a manufacturer’s defect and a manufacturer’s problem,’” Willis wrote.

And the Willis family is not alone.

Shipping records reviewed by The Associated Press indicate that imports of potentially tainted Chinese building materials exceeded 500 million pounds during a four-year period of soaring home prices. The drywall may have been used in more than 100,000 homes, according to some estimates, including houses rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana.

“Where are the insurance companies that seek ways to protect their consumers instead of searching their policies trying to find loopholes and a way out of paying claims? How can builders and subcontractors feel secure enough to build homes, making a living for their families, when their insurance companies do not support or insure their work?” Willis asked.

According to Florida U.S. Senator Bill Nelson’s Web site, suspect materials have been confirmed in drywall tested in Florida and Louisiana, but the government is asking for more testing and has no solutions yet.

“The just-concluded tests by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency found that Chinese-made drywall contained sulfur that wasn’t in U.S. drywall, strontium at levels 10 times as high as in U.S. drywall and two other organic compounds generally found in acrylic paint that were not detected in any U.S. made wallboard,” the Web site stated.

On May 4, in a letter written to the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Nelson and Louisiana’s U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu asked for $2 million to be given to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to complete more drywall field studies, expedite lab results, and set up a public information campaign to bring more awareness to those affected.

Lawmakers did complain that the CPSC was slow to react to consumer complaints and Nelson called for the removal of the agency’s chair, Nancy Nord.

Even though there possible health risks, and the drywall has been suspect for the last three years, Willis feels that she still has no options in the matter.

“How can a family afford to move out of their home into a rental while continuing to pay their mortgage payments?” she asked.

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