Moisture: Mold's best friend

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http://www.nynews.com/HomePage/101600/16badmold/

Moisture: Mold's best friend

PAMELA WEBER-LEAF

THE JOURNAL NEWS

The rash of mold outbreaks in Rockland schools since the winter may have

been fueled by unusually wet weather, but experts agree the hazards are

nothing new under the sun.

Molds, or fungi, have been around for thousands of years and always flourish

in the presence of moisture, said ph Forgacs, a Pearl River resident and

internationally recognized authority on the organisms. They are occasionally

highly toxic, leading to liver damage and the failure of other major organs.

But it was not until the past few decades - and especially the past several

years - that people outside the scientific community really began to address

the issue.

" Fungi have actually been with us a long, long time, " said Forgacs, a

diplomate of the American Board of Microbiology and retired administrator at

Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern. " We're just waking up to the fact that

we have these problems. "

In March, parents were troubled to learn that air in W.

Elementary School in Nanuet was contaminated with mold spores, a situation

that led administrators to move 100 students into makeshift classrooms for

weeks. The fungus disappeared once workers fixed the roof, a project that

had been planned two years ago but was stalled pending state approval, Jo

Cavalier, a spokeswoman for the district, said recently.

At North Garnerville Elementary School, a leaking roof was the culprit in

the creation of a non-toxic mold that spread throughout the library wing.

Workers have just finished sealing the roof with epoxy to prevent future

leaks and were to begin replacing tiles and spraying fungicide inside the

building late last week, said Israel Bordainick, assistant superintendent

for the North Rockland schools. He said a toxic mold, initially believed to

be widespread in the girls locker room at North Rockland High School, was

found to be contained in a 1-square-foot area. That ceiling section and a

buffer around the perimeter were replaced, along with the leaky pipe that

caused the problem, Bordainick said.

Last week, the North Rockland district reported that mold had been

discovered at A. Farley and Willow Grove middle schools, as well as at

Gerald F. Neary and Thiells elementary schools.

Mold also has been found growing in two Pearl River schools, in newly

constructed areas of the middle school and lin Avenue Elementary

School.

No one has reported any long-term effects on young people, teachers or other

adults in Rockland from molds.

The organisms need a certain amount of humidity to start growing - at least

70 percent, which translates to 12 percent to 14 percent moisture in the

air. But once the spores have begun to develop, the atmosphere need not be

wet at all, Forgacs pointed out.

Because the habitat required for growth is so common, molds are ubiquitous.

" I can't take an air sample without finding a mold sample, " said Ken Eck,

supervisor of risk safety management for the Rockland Board of ative

Educational Services. " In my professional career, I've seen it everywhere. "

Eck and his colleagues answer all mold-related complaints in the county's

public schools.

Fungus problems have not been limited to schools or other public buildings

because the organisms can grow on just about any surface. Water that seeped

into several apartments at a half-completed condominium complex along the

pier in Piermont produced fungus and forced the developer to hire a

contractor to reassess the cooling system there.

The first scientists to devote serious attention to the thousands of species

of the microscopic organisms, Forgacs said, were World War I-era Russians

sponsored by a government worried about a fungal disease that killed nearly

all the horses in the Ukraine. But American politicians were reluctant to

fund this type of research, and Forgacs himself drifted away from the study

in the late 1950s to other, more mainstream subjects.

Now, the once arcane field has entered the mainstream, and the 83-year-old

Forgacs has emerged from retirement to deliver a series of presentations and

academic papers on the subject.

The resurgence of interest in environmental issues, experts agree, fueled

more attention in the past few decades to " sick buildings, " structures

infested with molds, bacteria or other organisms. And a succession of

high-profile mold incidents stemming from the 1970s energy crisis brought

the situation to prominence, said Ken Wallingford, coordinator of indoor

environmental air quality for the National Institute for Occupational Safety

and Health. The popularity of energy conservation measures like shutting off

buildings' supply of outside air, done to avoid having to heat or

air-condition the inside, led to an unexpected environmental crisis.

Wallingford estimated that institute officials had investigated 1,500 sick

buildings since 1971.

" It's not new, it's just new to some people, " he added. " They're finally

learning you have to have exposure to outside air. "

As events in Rockland have shown, the organisms are not invincible. Common

household bleach, mixed one parts to 10 with tap water, is the best way to

kill a mold, the New York City Department of Health said. The agency has

taken the lead in the Northeast following a series of contamination problems

that caused students to fall ill in the city's schools.

This type of treatment seems imperative. Wallingford also warned that while

most molds are not toxic, many are pathogenic, meaning that they can still

cause disease. Aspergillosis, a fungal infection of the lungs caused by some

nontoxic species of the Aspergillus genus of molds, is one example of this

threat. Nearly all strains of the many species of fungus can produce asthma

or other allergic reactions in a person with mold allergies.

But residents can take some solace in that endless days of rain or

monsoon-caliber weather will not bring even greater problems. Molds cannot

flourish in the face of true flooding, Forgacs explained.

" If it's too wet, they won't grow either, " he said. " That's the good thing. "