(July 14) -- When Rhonda and Jason Holt started their family in the Winchester, Tenn., home they bought in 2004, they couldn't understand why they and their children were hit by mysterious illnesses.
Rhonda started getting migraines. Her husband had problems with his kidneys. And the three children they had, now ages 4, 2 and 1, had respiratory problems that required drugs and hospital visits, reported The New York Times.
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Josh Anderson / The New York Times / Redux
Rhonda Holt and her son Ethan sit with Anna, 2, as she gets breathing treatment. She suffered a relapse from an illness that began in their home.
Finally, in February, they found out that their house had previously been used as a drug lab, and was contaminated with methamphetamines, which had permeated the drywall, carpets, insulation and air ducts, leading to the family's health problems. And cleaning up the toxins would cost at least $30,000.
"We had no idea that we were starting a family in a meth house," Rhonda Holt told the Times. "We bought a house that eventually was going to sentence our family to death."
The paper reports that seizures of meth labs are on the rise across the country, and that federal data suggests there are thousands of contaminated residences in the U.S. The massive cleanup costs can destroy a family's finances.
About 20 states have laws requiring cleanup from meth contamination, but there are no national standards.
The Holts are now living with family nearby as they try to save money to have the decontamination work done on their home. Their health problems have largely subsided since they moved out, the Times said, but "We don't know what it's going to be in the future," said Rhonda Holt.
