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n 2006, Crystal Kinler and her family moved to Ruskin. Having survived Hurricane Katrina, she and her husband, Gerard, were ready to start fresh with their four children in the perfect family home. Kinler envisioned her new home as a place where her four children would giggle in pillow forts. Where her newborn baby would learn to walk and drool and play. Where her daughters would have sleepovers with their best friends and talk about the boys in their grade. Where her husband would come home from a long day teaching with a bouquet of flowers for her, just because. Instead, her home was where her family would become sick. The walls, hung with picture frames and snapshots, were made from toxic Chinese drywall that was causing chemicals to seep into everything and everyone inside. And the longer they stayed, the sicker they got. Now, Kinler has thyroid cancer, and she believes her home is what caused it. A Healthy Home A few months after moving into their brand new Ruskin home, Kinler noticed something wrong. “My son was having nosebleeds all the time. I also had an infant and she was very sick,” says Kinler. “Our newborn stayed sick and needed a nebulizer treatment about six times a day.” Around the same time, Kinler noticed her silverware and jewelry had begun turning black, and her appliances started breaking down. She began experiencing the common signs of toxic drywall homes: Electronics and the air handler stopped working several times and the air sometimes smelled foul. It all raised red flags, but, unwilling to rush to conclusions, Kinler thought maybe her family was just having a run of bad luck.
She took her children to doctors, and at one point her 6-month-old daughter was admitted to All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg. They tested her children for everything, and also questioned Kinler about her son’s constant major nosebleeds. Members of the family were tested for various illnesses throughout the three years that they lived in the home until a doctor finally discovered that it was their environment making them sick. A home inspection determined what they had begun to suspect: that that the drywall was in fact Chinese drywall—which meant that the walls of the Kinlers’ house were filled with toxic chemicals that only worsen over time. During the early to mid-2000’s, homes were being built with cheaper materials since new construction was in such high demand. However, the cheaper some of the materials were, the more toxic they became as the years passed. Not only was the drywall being used toxic, but many homes were also made with contaminated laminate flooring that contains toxic amounts of formaldehyde. Other common toxic materials used in home building include insulation that can release formaldehyde, carpeting made with artificial dyes or treatments as well as carpeting made with flame retardant and phthalates, and PVC products like vinyl flooring. Not only can the Chinese drywall cause health issues, but toxic materials like phthalates and formaldehyde can wreak major havoc on the endocrine system and has been linked to asthma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, breast cancer, obesity, low IQ, neurodevelopmental issues, behavioral issues, autism spectrum disorders, and altered reproductive health. These same chemicals can be found in PVC products like piping and vinyl flooring in addition to carpet. Toxic homes are still being bought and sold
toxic home Harmful chemicals causing health risks in kids By Krista Byrd
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TAMPA BAY PARENTING • MAR. 2016 • TBParenting.com
every day, but owners are discovering too late that they cannot afford to replace all of the toxic materials. “Chinese drywall can release dangerous gasses that can be harmful to children and adults,” says Joseph Perno, M.D., from the division of emergency medicine and chief of staff at All Children’s Hospital Johns Hopkins Medicine. “The main problems tend to be respiratory and [are] similar to the effects of sulfur gasses.” Common complains of those exposed to Chinese drywall include: respiratory irritation (like chronic cough or wheezing), headaches, sinusitis, eye and throat irritation, and malaise or other weakness, according to Perno. He also warns that telling the difference between your child being sick from their environment or from regular germs can be difficult. “Healthy children who are in either daycare or school may get sick 10-12 times per year. However, if the child is having repeat infections such as pneumonia, sinusitis, and ear infections, there may be a household trigger,” says Perno. “Similarly, if the child is suffering from chronic (not seasonal) allergy symptoms they may be sensitive to household allergens and allergy testing may be warranted.” Home builders and government agencies, including the FDA and the CPSC, have not found reasons to believe that the effects will be lasting. “Because many consumers report that their symptoms lessen or go away when they are away from their home, but return upon re-entry, it appears that these are short-term symptoms related to something within the home,” says a spokesperson from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). “The CPSC is confident that its extensive research and testing have been successful in defining the scope of the problem drywall issue.”