MIAMI (CBS4) — Florida’s insurer of last resort has decided once again to suspend policies for homeowners who bought properties with tainted Chinese drywall, according to attorney David Durkee.

Durkee, an attorney for homeowners with the tainted Chinese drywall, says Citizens Property Insurance Corp., has reversed course once again, saying it will suspend policies for those individuals.

Durkee says his clients have begun receiving notices informing them their coverage will be dropped by Citizens. The company made the same move in 2009, but then reversed course after bad publicity over the decision. Thousands of homeowners, mostly in Florida, Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana, have reported problems with the Chinese-made drywall, which was imported in large quantities during the housing boom and after a string of Gulf Coast hurricanes.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says homes tainted by Chinese drywall should be gutted and that electrical wiring, outlets, circuit breakers, fire alarm systems, carbon monoxide alarms, fire sprinklers, gas pipes and drywall need to be removed.

The drywall has been linked to corrosion of wiring, air conditioning units, computers, doorknobs and jewelry, along with possible health effects. Preliminary studies have found a possible link between throat, nose and lung irritation and high levels of hydrogen sulfide gas emitted from the wallboard, coupled with formaldehyde, which is commonly found in new houses, the commission said.

The Chinese Drywall Complaint Center is doing everything possible to get a meaningful federal response for hundreds of thousands of US citizens stuck in this toxic Chinese drywall mess. For more information please contact the Chinese Drywall Complaint Center anytime at 866-714-6466, or contact the group via its web site at ChineseDrywallComplaintCenter.com.

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