It's the same mold story health officials are hearing (Youngstown, OH)

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http://www.vindi.com/local_news/276925451067606.shtml

It's the same mold story health officials are hearing

If you spot mold, just get rid of it and the moisture causing it, health

officials say.

By TIM YOVICH

VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF

Valley residents have steadily become more aware of mold problems in homes,

apartments, schools and office buildings.

Even the Trumbull County Health Department isn't immune. The basement of its

offices in Warren has been sealed off from the rest of the building because

of mold.

In Girard, the intermediate school was closed because of it and other health

issues, which some parents used in an unsuccessful attempt to oust school

board members for not alerting them sooner to the problems.

A Niles house has been demolished. Another in Champion will be torn down by

month's end.

Nine classrooms at Youngstown State University's Beeghly Center have been

closed because of mold.

In Hubbard, city officials are looking to abandon their aged police station.

The basement, the primary source of the bold, has been sealed from the rest

of the building.

In some cases, such as the Girard school, ventilation ducts were replaced

and carpeting removed to correct the problem.

In all these cases, excessive moisture is the cause of the problem.

Mold produces spores, which can be found in both indoor and outdoor air.

Spores land and grow on a damp spot on any of several surfaces, including

wood, paper, carpeting and food.

According to the Black Mold Information Center, black mold can kill. There

are some people, especially children, who can suffer lung tissue damage and

memory loss.

Migliozzi, director of environmental health in Trumbull County, and

his counterpart in Mahoning County, Rick Setty, say a television news

magazine show on mold alerted the public to the silent yet nagging problem.

" That's what got the whole thing going, " Migliozzi said. " This is nothing

new, though. "

Because of education through the press and the Internet, Migliozzi said,

he's been surprised at the knowledge the public has about mold.

In Trumbull County, the health department used to get maybe two inquiries

monthly about a possible mold problem.

Between September 2001 and April, the department got 60 written complaints,

and the same number over the phone.

Setty said his agency, which never got mold complaints, now fields two or

three a week.

" Part of what is driving this is people standing by and watching their

houses being bulldozed, " Setty said.

In New Castle, Pa., city health officer Bonelli said public education

has slightly increased complaints of mold there.

The city had three complaints all of last year and four so far this year.

Bonelli said most mold problems occur because of poor building maintenance.

For example, moisture reaches the basement because gutters malfunction and

downspouts don't direct the water away from the structure.

Setty and Migliozzi say renters file the most complaints.

Because Ohio has no toxic mold program, Migliozzi said inspectors can't

enter rental property without prior approval of the owner.

Because of the lack of a " right to entry " law, renters are forced to take

legal action to get inspectors inside.

In Mahoning, Setty said, local regulations don't require the health

department to go through the owner.

Setty said he " hangs his hat " on a written complaint to enter a rental unit

under the health district's dwelling and premises regulations.

In some cases, he said, property owners " go off the deep end " when they see

mold, but there shouldn't be any concern if it's cleaned up.

Setty doesn't understand how a house can become so full of mold that it must

be demolished. If the structure is properly maintained, the problem

shouldn't become so dramatic.

Setty said that if mold can't been seen, there isn't much a property owner

can do.

But Migliozzi said that if a homeowner suspects that mold is in the house,

the local health department should be contacted.

In many cases, tenants file complaints to get back at the owners for one

reason or another.

" It's become a classic debate between tenants and landlords to determine

who's at fault, " Setty said.

It's the tenants' responsibility to keep the rental clean and dry and the

owner's responsibility if construction work is needed to resolve the mold

problem.

Health officials agree the best way to take care of mold is to first correct

the cause of the moisture, such as a leaky roof or water entering the

basement.

Then, they advise, remove the mold. That might mean removing wood, drywall

and carpeting and then scrubbing the area.

Finally, they recommend keeping the problem area dry.

Testing for mold is expensive.

Migliozzi said it cost $4,600 to test a building, such as the Chestnut

Street location his agency is in, and the testing cost for an average home

is about $1,500.

Dobson, Girard health commissioner, doesn't even recommend testing for

mold in residences.

Dobson stressed that eliminating the cause of the moisture and cleaning up

any mold that has accumulated should allow people to forget about it.

" If you see it, get rid of it, " Setty re-emphasized. " If you ignore it, it

could become a health hazard. "

The Center for Disease Control calls attention to health issues because of

exposure to some molds such as respiratory problems, sore throat, shortness

of breath, chronic fatigue, skin irritation, diarrhea and immune

suppression.

Lou Morocco, manager of remediation for the Aberdeen Corp. in Boardman, has

been working on mold problems for about a year and a half.

Morocco said his company first eliminates the source of the moisture -

leaking roof, broken pipe - then dries the area.

" People don't understand how critical it is to get it dry, " Morocco said.

If the mold appears, his company removes it.

" The medical effects of mold are just becoming known, " he said.

Morocco pointed out, though, that mold has always been around and has its

advantages, such as in making bread, cheese, wine and beer. It also helps

decompose waste in dumps.

But if a residence is not properly maintained, family members can become ill

and their dwelling quarantined and demolished.

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