Mandeville - Several more cases of possible tainted Chinese drywall are popping up on the North Shore. The suspected symptoms are getting so bad in one Mandeville subdivision that residents are now starting to move out.
Several residents in the fairly new Chinchuba Creek Garden Homes subdivison have either left - or are getting ready to box up their belongings. The problem: fears and signs of possible toxic Chinese drywall.
"Pretty much my neighborhood's starting to look like a ghost town," resident Mary Zuppardo said. With for sale signs popping up, and living rooms emptying out, some neighbors in this Mandeville subdivision say possible toxic Chinese drywall may be to blame.
Mary Haindel moved out two weeks ago. To this day, every time she walks in, she says she smells something that is just not right.
"The smell is sulfur smell, heavy light lighting a match," said Haindel. Haindel said she noticed symptoms a while ago. "The darkening of the pipes, burning eyes coils going out twice."
She just didn't know what it was, until she saw our FOX 8 investigations.
"Now here I am a year later and we have made in China," Haindel said.
First Katrina - now this. She is clearing out again and she has a lawyer behind her.
"I've lost two assets now to catastrophies and its hurts financially puts a burden on you," Haindel said.
The burden is being felt on her neighbors, too. "At least half of the homes in the subdivision have it," she said.
Haindel believes there are about a dozen or so homes affected by toxic Chinese drywall. Zuppardo thinks hers could also one of them.
"Lights switching not coming on, metals ruining, flat screen has a big line kids TV upstairs," she says. Zuppardo is worried about her three kids, and now she is looking to get out of the subdivision.
"I'm trying to stay around this area where the kids don't feel like the change but they're asking why is everybody moving,"
Tamica Smith said. "We just kind of feel like here we go again went through this 4 years ago with the hurricane."
Smith won't stay at her home right now - because of how sick her 6 month old baby's been getting.
"I've been to the ER five times in the past three weeks, we had specialists to try and see what's wrong with her try to get her tested for sulfur to see if she's exposed and they told us we have to go to FEMA," said Smith.
It's becoming a familiar and unfriendly run around for this young family. Soon, like a lot of their neighbors, they too might be leaving for good.
Christie Laporte with Laporte Family Properties says, "as the homebuilder, we too are victims of this disaster. In addition, we have homes in our inventory that are also affected. We are also communicating with our homeowners and keeping them abreast of all developments as they arise."
A few of the residents in the subdivision are awaiting toxicology results to see what exactly is happening in their homes. No count right now how many homes could have tainted Chinese drywall in them.
