When mold attacks!

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When mold attacks!

MICHAEL HOLTZMAN , Staff Writer 03/28/2004

PROVIDENCE -- C. May, the Cambridge author of the allergy and

asthma guide for families " My House is Killing Me! " offers a take-off

on the mantra by real estate people trying to sell a home.

When it comes to HVAC systems, May's motto is " filtration,

filtration, filtration. "

But even the best filters won't offset a contaminated heating,

ventilation and air conditioning system, May told a diverse audience

of about 60 people Friday attending a half-day seminar on

understanding and controlling indoor allergens. It was the second

annual seminar on indoor air quality (IAQ) issues sponsored by the

North field-based School Health and Safety Association Inc.

(SHASA).

Along with May, an IAQ investigation expert, allergy and asthma

physician specialist Dr. Santilli shared his understanding of

the increasing health problems being related to mold and IAQ issues.

Among the statistics offered was that one in 10 children has asthma

and the rate has increased 75 to 100 percent over the past decade.

May concentrated on understanding potential allergen dangers and how

to control them, while Santilli offered a detailed resume of testing

techniques and the health effects of mold-contaminated schools on

students and teachers in Connecticut.

Walking his audience through the typical home and its many hiding

places of invisible and barely visible contaminants in the air, May

concentrated on the basements, ventilation systems and attics, as

well as bathrooms and kitchens that can get wet. Another motto of his

seems to be that if an area gets wet or moist and stays wet, it can

get moldy.

" The single most important component of mold control is moisture

control, " said May, who along with Santilli told horror stories of

mold taking over houses and schools that sounded like King

had dreamt them up.

May recalled in the introduction of his book the desperate woman who

inadvertently gave it the title when she experienced allergy symptoms

in every room of her house except one room with a later addition.

When the old owner removed the ducts, " unfortunately the abandoned

upstairs heat registers were still open to the basement. Basement air

and mold spores floated up into every room in the house except the

addition, which did not contain a register, " May said.

Noting that twice as many children and women suffer from bad IAQ as

men -- sometimes causing family tensions between those sensitive to

the environmental effects and those that are not - May said airflows

could be a significant factor. Having inspected some 8,000 buildings

in his consulting business, after one study he did comparing nearly

500 homes, two-thirds of which were " sick " and one-third that were

not, he concluded: " People suffering from asthma or allergies were

almost twice as likely to be living in houses with hot-air heat,

central air conditioning or basement carpets. "

He recommends regular carpet maintenance cleaning or no carpeting,

dust-free mechanical equipment that includes ventilation filters

meeting high standards, no moldy crawl spaces and dehumidifying

equipment for moist areas in below-grade-level spaces.

He offered an example of how mold spores can exist heavily in one

area or one room and not another after diagnosing a moldy family

room. A couch gave him the clue. The nearby carpeted floor and

sitting part of the coach tested heavily for mold; the vertical side

not at all.

The combination of spilling sugary drinks that metabolize in the high

humidity caused the heavy growth of mold spores, the tests showed.

That's one explanation, he said, where a school can show differences

from classroom to classroom.

May believes the majority of grills on univent systems " have never

been cleaned in 30-40 years. Mold grows in these dust buggies, " he

said. That condition produces a " constant low level of mold to which

people can get allergic. " There should be no dust on ventilators,

said May, who also offered a cynical assessment of how " test "

readings for mold can be manipulated.

Smell is a telltale sign, he said. " If you can smell mold, 99 out of

100 times there's a mold problem, and you have to find it, " May said.

Discussing the presence of mildew, dust mites and mycotoxins

(chemical fungi), among the " cast of characters " invading homes and

buildings, May offers tips about two important culprits: books and

pests.

He advises treating wooden basement structures with a borate

preservative to minimize mold and insect infestations and being wary

of antique or other furniture that may have been stored in infested

places.

On books, he says, " Even if you find that rare book you've been

searching for, if it smells moldy, don't bring it home. "

" It does not take a long, long time to have a big, big problem. I

think a lot of people saw that over the summer, " said May in

reference to the numerous school districts throughout the region that

sustained major mold problems. North field spent more than

$200,000 correcting mold problems at its two elementary schools, for

instance.

May said it was his opinion that most every school system suffered

some degree of mold problem because of the high humidity.

During his 30 to 40 years of research, among Santilli's

concentrations have been the impacts to students and teachers from

mold exposure, including how it affects their health and lifestyle

and environmental standards testing.

He said a cynical attitude among some that " people think people with

air quality health issues are crazy " has been counteracted by

scientific literature and the reinforcement of Santilli's peers in

the medical field. Among the data May offered in his book to show the

evolving research was that in the 1960s there was insufficient

evidence to show that dust mites cause allergies, now considered

irrefutable.

Exposure to mold triggers allergies, bronchial asthma and sinus

problems,Santilli said the research shows. He said among federal

agencies, the Environmental Protection Agency and General Accounting

Office " gets it " that mold in schools is a significant national

problem.

So much so that the GAO in 1995 issued a report saying it would cost

$112 billion - more than the war in Iraq in 2004 dollars - " to repair

or upgrade " the nation's schools that have mold and IAQ problems,

said Santilli, who is chief of the division of allergy and immunology

at St. 's Medical Center in Bridgeport, Conn.

He offered a series of health problems suffered by students as well

as teachers - mostly women - in Connecticut schools that caused those

teachers to need to leave their careers. " How do we know what's going

on with people's health? " he asked before showing a survey of 26

symptoms graded from zero to 5. They looked at headaches, chronic

fatigue, skin irritations, wheezing, red eyes, ear aches, shortness

of breath, itchy eyes and the related symptoms of exposure to

allergens, irritants and, in some cases, toxic substances produced by

mold.

He told the dramatic story of the McKinley School in Fairfield, Conn.

that was so toxic it was condemned and did not re-open for three

years, the final bill for completing all the work being $26 million.

Others Connecticut schools paid hundreds of thousands to millions of

dollars to correct its mold-related health problems in a state

considered among the wealthiest in the country, Santilli reported.

He told the story of a special education teacher who tested for mold

in her school herself and got fired. " The good news, " Santilli

said, " is she got a job in a healthy new school. So there is some

justice. "

Offering practical advice, Santilli urged schools to obtain a 4-

pound, $1,000 IAQ testing machine that he says " is comparable " taking

air samples to one that weighs 35 pounds and cost $4,000.

He said national air quality testing standards remain difficult to

definitively quantify, but he believes efforts by health officials at

the state and federal level are making progress. The Providence

seminar, for instance, drew representatives of the state Department

of Health, American Lung Association's Rhode Island branch and Arelis

Valerioi, a physician at Hasbro Children's Hospital, according to the

sponsors.

Other attendees included Louise Kane, principal of West Gloucester

Elementary School, a school that has been undergoing mold

remediation; North field Assistant Superintendent Margaret LeMay

and North field Elementary School Vice Principal Diane Jolin;

Max Girourd from the Providence Diocese; a representative of

Saylesville Elementary School in Lincoln; school nurses; IAQ

remediation and testing businesses and representatives from the

insurance and real estate fields that are being impacted by mold

issues. One new firm, Water Out in field headed by S.

, was using the seminar to help launch its new operation.

" It confirmed a lot of the suspicions I had, " said NSES's Jolin, such

as that mold grows with nourishment. " That's why it's growing on our

lunch tables and chairs, where people sit..You have to be more

vigilant, " she said, adding, " I definitely will be sharing this with

the custodial staff. "

LeMay, who with Jolin attended May's presentation before leaving for

a meeting, said the speaker was knowledgeable and informative,

confirming many of the mold remediation efforts the town has done

since problems surfaced five years ago at NSES and also occurred over

the last humid summer at NSES and Halliwell School.

" It made me feel good about the things we're doing, " LeMay said.

ette Hamilton-Kell, president of the SHASA organization that

formed four years ago in North field in response to IAQ issues

and concerns of parents, said her organization has branched out to

the state arena. Its expansion has been to be part of state issues,

working toward better solutions impacting children and staff in

schools, she said. Its 125 members are about one-fourth North

field residents.

Funded on a shoestring budget, SHASA has been applying for government

grants and obtained seed money from a most grass roots origin: a

giant yard sale. Asked about the turnout at the seminar, Hamilton-

Kell, a self-employed marketing consultant who teaches part-time at

College, said, " We increased the attendance and diversity of

our audience. I think the next conference will be better still. "

The registration included copies of May's " My House is Killing Me. "

His next book, " The Mold Survival Guide: For Your Home and for Your

Health, " is due out this year from s Hopkins University Press.

©The Call 2004