Blanket of Mold Threatens Health and Homes

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Blanket of Mold Threatens Health and Homes

By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS

Published: October 2, 2005

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/02/national/nationalspecial/02mold.htm

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NEW ORLEANS - As residents of New Orleans begin to re-enter the

homes and businesses left standing after Hurricane Katrina, many may

face an obstacle more pervasive and possibly more dangerous than mud

and rotting wood: mold spores reproducing inside tens of thousands

of buildings.

/The New York Times

Joan Frichter returned to her home in St. Bernard Parish, La., last

week to find it infested with mold. She said she wouldn't live there

again.

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Public health experts say mold could present significant risks and

may force thousands of demolitions.

Trillions of spores, exacerbated by the sultry late-summer weather,

could sicken the 20 percent of the population that has allergy

problems, experts say, and could also be dangerous for older

residents, children and people with weakened immune systems.

Further, New Orleans has large populations with high rates of

asthma, particularly African-Americans and people living below the

poverty line, and mold can aggravate asthma symptoms.But as the city

confronts its enormous rebuilding task, removing mold has been

deemed a low priority compared with repairing levees and bridges,

clearing streets and figuring out how to restart the economy.

Officials at the state Department of Health and Hospitals, the

agency primarily responsible for mold mitigation, said the

department was so overwhelmed with other flood-related work that it

could not inspect homes or analyze the potential health risks of

mold, beyond disseminating information on its Web site.

After the city's levees were breached, tens of thousands of

commercial and residential structures were submerged. Any wall or

ceiling above the flood line was at risk of attracting mold spores,

which are present in the air and reproduce when there is sufficient

moisture and when they have a food source - organic materials like

insulation, mattresses, wallpaper, upholstered furniture and stuffed

animals.

A. Rice, director of the environmental quality laboratory at

Colorado State University, said each square inch of mold growth

could produce one million spores. While most people will not feel

any ill effects of breathing a moderate number of spores, Dr. Rice

said that even healthy people could come down with sinus and lung

infections that could spread to the brain, and that some molds

produced toxins that could cause birth defects and cancer.

" You are dealing with literally trillions of spores, " he said. " That

can overwhelm even a healthy immune system. "

But other experts disagree, and studies examining the long-term

health effects of mold exposure have been inconclusive.

M. Kipen, a professor of environmental and occupational

medicine at the Wood Medical School in New Jersey,

said scientific evidence did not bear out links between mold

exposure and cancer, birth defects or even fatigue.

" It can make a significant percentage of the population sick, "

Professor Kipen said, referring to those with allergies. " Mold is

very nasty. But whether it causes permanent health injury is

inconclusive. "

Harold I. Zeliger, a chemical toxicologist in West Charlton, N.Y.,

said the mold in New Orleans - after nearly four weeks of

uninterrupted growth - could force the widespread demolition of

buildings.

" Even if they could be saved structurally, " Dr. Zeliger said, " it

probably doesn't make economic sense to do so. "

Despite such predictions, some property owners are trying to clean

up. But some of the advice being disseminated by state and federal

agencies is contradictory, and most of it does not take into account

the current circumstances in New Orleans.

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, for

instance, recommends that cleaning be completed within 48 hours but

says nothing about what to do if a building was flooded nearly four

weeks ago. The agency's Web site states that care should be taken

not to spread spores when cleaning, and recommends blocking air

vents and not using fans to dry buildings soaked by contaminated

water.

However, the state Department of Health and Hospitals advises on its

Web site, " where possible, use fans to dry out the building, " and

does not discuss taking steps to prevent the spread of mold.

Many of the residents who have returned have not followed the

recommended precautions. Some said they could not afford special

equipment and lacked insurance that would allow them to hire a

professional.

" It's a little mold, " said Charlie Cooke, 43, who was scrubbing the

walls of his home near the Central Business District with

bleach. " I'd rather get a little sick than wait to have my place

cleaned up. "

About eight inches of water had flooded the first floor of Mr.

Cooke's house; his couch was spotted with fungus, and gray and black

spots of mold covered the walls, which had turned from white to

yellow.

He wore gloves but not a mask, and was barefoot. " You pick your

poison, I suppose, " he said.