Human Service Department employees have experienced

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Saturday, October 30, 2004

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/46052-10-30-04.html

Mold sprouting in some of the most unexpected places

Jane Moorman News-Bulletin Staff Writer; Jmoorman@...

Belen The hail and rainstorm that battered Belen on Oct. 5 was the

last

straw for the leaking roof of the state office building at Becker

and

Fifth Street.

Human Service Department employees have experienced a musty smell

from

the water leaks before when it rained, but now the smell of mold is

worse and the problem has expanded from a roofing job to the task of

removing mold, which are both scheduled to be done soon.

The Valencia County Public Health Department's Belen office staff

has

also smelled the musty odor of mold over the years, but nothing had

been done to alleviate the problem until now. The mold under the

floor

in the facility will be removed soon.

Elsewhere in the county, mold has taken over the walls of District

Judge Pope's chamber and endangers the court records stored in

the

basement of the county courthouse.

In a semi-arid environment such as New Mexico, it seems strange for

mold to be growing. But Ron Harvey of Advance Environment in Belen

says

mold can grow anywhere moisture has been left unattended for 24 to

48

hours.

" Mold is caused by water leaks, whether it is roof leaks, window

leaks

or indoor plumbing leaks, " Harvey said. " We've even removed mold

that

came from an automatic icemaker that leaked and made a mess. "

Advance Environment receives three to five calls a week regarding

mold

from across the state and as far away as Arizona.

" People have become aware of the potential health hazard from media

coverage, some of the coverage has been blown out of proportion, " he

said.

" Also, since the '70s energy crisis, our buildings are sealed

tighter

than they were in the past. Without good ventilation, mold spores

don't

move away from the enclosed space. Also, ventilation helps to dry

out

moisture before mold can grow. "

Mold requires two things to grow — water and food.

" There are 250,000 species of mold. As a plant, mold needs a food

source, which can be anything that is organic carbon such as wood,

paper, carpet backing and even wallpaper paste, " he said of the

microplant that will eventually destroy its food source.

Once the mold colony has begun to grow, the plants release spores,

which are the mold's seeds. It is the spores that cause health

problems

for some people.

" People can be exposed to mold in three forms — the microscopic

spores,

fragments of the dried plant and mycotozins that are released from

the

mold to compete with other mold species for a food source, " Harvey

said. " When people with weakened immune systems inhale these

airborne

particles it can cause an allergic reaction. "

A relatively small portion of the population is affected by mold.

Those

susceptible are the very young and very old or people on an

immune-suppressing drug.

" Health effects can be very minor — runny nose, itchy eyes — while

other people may have respiratory ailments, " Harvey said. " The

reason

for all of the media attention is because of a couple of isolated

cases

where people have died, particularly infants. "

Of the 250,000 species, stachybotrys is considered the bad boy of

the

lot.

In one removal project at a preschool, Harvey said his team had

cleaned

the air to the point there was only 19 spores per cubic meter of

air,

which is " roughly like having one person on the face of the earth. "

But

the indoor air quality expert who was monitoring the project said it

was still too high.

" We had to get it down to zero, because of the type of mold and the

age

of the children occupying the facility who were considered a

vulnerable

population, " he said.

Because there is no scientific data regarding the levels of mold and

health effects, Harvey says each case is different.

When Lupe Reynoso, nurse manager at the Public Health Clinic in

Belen,

decided to address the mold in that facility she called CERL

Environmental Consultants to determine the type of mold and the

extent

of the problem.

Dale Curtis, spokesperson for the Santa Fe consulting firm, said

occupants of buildings should be aware of suspect conditions, such

as

water staining on walls or ceilings the color of tea, visible mold

and

blistering of paint.

" This indicates water is somewhere it is not supposed to be, " Curtis

said.

When the environmental inspectors visit the site, they perform a

moisture test to determine if damp conditions exist behind, above or

beneath the surface. The team also collects samples of the mold that

they use to determine the type of mold present.

" But the most important thing is how much is present, " Curtis said.

" While there is no governmental standard of acceptable amount, size

of

the mold colony is a factor in how many spores are in a cubic foot

of

air. "

Harvey agrees.

" You can't see into the wall, but a water stain will tell you where

the

water has been wicked up by the sheetrock from where it has been

trapped, " he said. " When you see a spot of mold on the surface of

the

wall, you can bet there is more under the surface. Mold is going to

grow as far as the water goes. "

When Advanced Environment removes mold, they must isolate the

contaminated work area in airtight plastic where air scrubbers

remove

the spores.

" We do this to keep the spores from contaminating the rest of the

building, " Harvey said.

Once the area is contained, the removal process begins.

" Basically it takes a lot of elbow grease, " said Curtis. " It's a

matter

of physically removing the mold spores and the things the mold is

actively growing on. Once that is done, you have to sanitize the

area

to be sure it is good and clean and no mold is left to resume

growing. "

When the team is cleaning a surface, they use a stiff brush to scrub

the area with laundry detergent. Sanitation is done with a mixture

of

one part bleach and five parts water.

" You have to keep the area good and wet with the bleach water for 20

minutes to be sure it is all killed, " Curtis said. " Once that is

done,

the area needs to be wiped down real well and let dry. "

If the mold has rooted into a wood surface, that surface must be

sanded

away until no stains remain.

" Stains are signs that the mold is present, " Curtis said. 'You have

to

remove the stain. "

Harvey warns that before removing the mold it is important to stop

the

source of the water.

" It doesn't do any good to remove the mold, and still have the water

leak, " he said. " People can prevent mold if they get a water leak

dried

up within 24 hours. If you let it go a week you will probably have

mold. Mold spores are every where, just waiting for the right

conditions to grow. "