Mold! How To Deal With It

[Guest guest]

Mold! How To Deal With It

POSTED: 4:50 am EDT May 23, 2005

http://www.thewbalchannel.com/healtharchive/4518311/detail.html

BALTIMORE -- Mold. A 4-letter word no homeowner wants to hear.

It can make your family sick and getting rid of it is expensive.

Think your homeowner's insurance will cover it?

WBAL-TV 11 News I-Team reporter discovers it's not

that simple.

Chino and her husband, , say they've been sick for more

than a year since they discovered mold in their home.

: " I cracked two ribs because I was coughing so much. They

really didn't know what to do with me. "

A fire next door caused water damage to their home and then came the

mold. The Chinos say toxicology tests prove the mold was making them

both very sick. With expecting, they felt they had to move

out.

: " The mold is very, very dangerous. It can really hurt your

health very serious -- not something to take lightly. Bringing a

baby into the environment like that, we've been told don't even

attempt it. Don't even try. "

: " The chinos were hoping their homeowners insurance

would cover the cost of remediation but their homeowners denied

their claim. The reason: the insurance industry says there's no

science to back up a lot of mold claims. "

Carolyn Gorman, Insurance Information Institute: " They're in a

difficult situation because there are no standards -- there is no

solid science to say what's safe what's not safe -- does it make you

sick or not. "

Dr. Breysee, s Hopkins: " We're able to detect mold just

about anywhere. Mold has been with people since people moved into

caves back in the Stone Age. We've been exposed to mold. "

Dr. Breysee is a professor of environmental health science

at s Hopkins. Bressee says it's clear mold causes allergic

diseases in those who are allergic to it. But some have claimed much

more serious health problems.

Breysee: " These are central nervous system effects, problems with

specific organ systems, memory loss, a whole host of things have

been alleged and when the National Academy Sciences panel looked at

that literature, they declared there was insufficient evidence to

make any of those associations. "

Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker, a Pocomoke, Md., doctor, wrote the book, Mold

Warriors. He says he's treated 2,500 patients for mold over the last

7 years from all over the country. Shoemaker says there's plenty of

science.

Shoemaker says it's going to take public pressure for the government

to see mold as a public threat.

Shoemaker: " I'm amazed, Ms. , that this has gone without

legislation for all these years.

In March, Rep. Conyers re-introduced a bill that calls on the

Environmental Protection Agency to come up with national standards

for mold inspection and testing of toxicity. It also calls for a

toxic mold hazardous insurance program.

Conyers: " One of the things my bill does is to create a mandatory

requirement that we get all the studies we need scientifically "

: " Who is your opposition? "

Conyers: " The reluctant parties in all this are the homebuilders

themselves, the insurance people, probably the banking mortgage

industry in housing and others -- construction people and suppliers -

- because of what they think is that they're going to get socked. "

So for now the Chinos' health problems have improved. But they say

they can't take their family home until someone helps them clean up

this moldy mess.

Rep. Conyers says if you support mold legislation, you need to let

your state and federal representatives know.

If you would like to know more about Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker's book,

Mold Warriors, click here.

Stay with TheWBALChannel.com and 11 News for the latest health

updates.