Company tests mold-killing process on Rutger St.

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http://www.uticaod.com/archive/2004/12/03/news/14189.html

Mold attacks historic house

Company tests mold-killing process on Rutger St.

Fri, Dec 3, 2004

LINDA MURPHY

Observer-Dispatch

Beck speaks to reporters while standing in front of the

enclosed house Thursday at 404 Rutger St. in Utica. Beck is the

chairman & CEO of Synapse Partners Risk Management, the company that

injected gases into the home to rid it of toxic mold.

UTICA -- On the outside, the tall, brick n home at 404

Rutger St. looked nearly as grand as when it was built a century

ago.

But inside, the house was filled with toxic mold.

" We had never seen a house with so much mold. Literally, the walls

were solid black, " Vicky Stauffer said Thursday.

By Thursday night, however, the home's interior " was more sterile

than any hospital room, " said Stauffer, a spokeswoman for Synapse

Partners Risk Management, the company in charge of ridding the home

of mold.

The mold was destroyed by the same process used in 2001 to kill

anthrax found in the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington,

D.C., United States Postal Service facilities in Brentwood, N.J.,

and Trenton, N.J., and the former American Media building in Boca

Raton, Fla.

" This is the first time this technology has been applied outside of

(combating) terrorism, " said Mayor Tim n, who visited the site

as a combination of gases was injected into the tent-encased

building.

The huge house was wrapped in what looked like a red-and-yellow

striped circus tent. The injected gases are a combination of common

chemicals and smell like the chlorine used in a swimming pool.

A vehicle from the federal Environmental Protection Agency monitored

the neighborhood for any sign of gas leaks while the process was

taking place, but officials said there were no leaks.

Beck, managing partner of Synapse, said the decontamination of

the Rutger Street house is an experiment, and if successful, the

process may be put to commercial use.

" We have no doubt the mold will be dead. The issue is whether or not

it will go as planned, " Beck said.

The crew originally thought it would take about three hours to kill

the mold. Instead, it took closer to eight hours.

" The length of time it takes to get sterilized depends on the amount

of microbial material in the building, " Beck said.

Synapse is working in conjunction with BioOne, a joint venture

between Albany-based Sabre Technical Services and Giuliani Partners -

- of which former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is a founding

partner -- to eradicate mold using a system called Microbial Matter

Remediation Technology.

The company plans to eventually take the technology to the

marketplace, Beck said.

" People with (mold) problems, especially in the Southeast, will want

to take this to the market as soon as possible. The needs are

profound, but as a business, we want to make sure it's going to work

and bring it forward in an orderly way, " he said.

About $1 million has been invested in the research, Beck said.

" The cost of the next (application) will be very, very competitive

against the alternate technology available, " he said.

The New York Times has reported that up to 50 percent of homes have

mold problems. Not all molds are toxic, but some household molds can

cause serious breathing difficulties, memory loss, dizziness, flu-

like symptoms and bleeding in the lungs.

This morning, independent governmental agencies will perform tests

to determine if the mold spores are indeed dead.

" We'll find out if the dead spores cause allergic reactions, " Beck

said. " ... We took a landmark that had to be destroyed and instead

we are rehabilitating it. "

Contact at lamurphy@....