TOXIC MOLD? RESIDENTS COMPLAIN OF SICKNESS-INDUCING SPORES AT COUNTY HEALTH OFFI

[Guest guest]

TOXIC MOLD? RESIDENTS COMPLAIN OF SICKNESS-INDUCING SPORES AT COUNTY

HEALTH OFFICE

Curry Coastal Pilot - Brookings,OR

By Carissa Wolf

Pilot staff writer

http://www.currypilot.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=14632

On Tuesdays and Thursdays you can get a flu shot at the health

department. On the fourth Friday of each month you can stop by to

check your HIV status. Breast cancer screenings are are available by

appointment. And everyday at the Curry County health office in

Brookings you can inhale a dose of mold.

Boshart recently visited the Mill Beach Road offices that house

Curry County Human Services and the Curry County Public Health

Department in Brookings. But after just minutes inside the building,

Boshart felt ill.

" My nose began to run and I asked for a Kleenex and I commented on

the bad smell, " Boshart said of her late February trip to the

office. Boshart said that by the end of her 45-minute visit to the

health department she was sick.

" My sinuses began to plug up and my head began to swell, " Boshart

said.

County and health officials say that mold could be causing health

department visitors to become ill. But at the moment, they say red

tape is hindering their ability to quickly clean the air, leaving

people such as Boshart in a wait to breathe easy.

It took two days before Boshart's symptoms went away but she didn't

loose sight of the irony behind her February visit to the health

department that touts a mission to " promote and protect the health

of the public. "

" I thought, `Why, this wasn't a two-day cold. This is mold,' " she

said. " You should be warned before you go (the health department). "

~~~

Boshart must make a decision next time she needs to visit the heath

department. She could stay home. She could wear a face mask.

She could try and arm herself against the effects of mold with an

arsenal of allergy prescriptions. But for Boshart and others like

her, that would require a visit to her physician and pharmacist.

It's not a very practical solution for a person who just needs a flu

shot, Boshart said.

She could also adopt Curry County Human Services Director

White's plan. He said mold sensitive people may have to find another

place to conduct their health-related business for the time being.

" I could talk to whoever I need to in the parking lot, " Boshart

said.

Or Boshart could complain.

Boshart chose the lat

In a letter to the Curry Coastal Pilot and a formal written

complaint addressed to Curry County Human Services officials,

Boshart detailed her encounter with the Curry County Health

Department resident mold. She said others needed to hear her story

and heed it as a warning.

" There's got to be more people who are allergic to mold, " she said.

~~~

No one knows exactly how many types of mold exist. Some scientists

put the number in the tens of thousands. Others estimate upwards of

three hundred thousand strains of mold exist. The Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recognized four common strains

of indoor mold, some of which pose a hazard to some people's health.

Curry County Public Health Department visitors suspect that at least

one of those strains has moved into cracks and hidden crannies in

the health department building and multiplied.

" If it smells moldy, it probably is mold, " White said.

The dank, swampy, earthy smell of mold has not gone unnoticed by

health department visitors and workers. White said that at least one

other complaint was filed during the last week of February.

One complaint obtained by the Pilot through Freedom of Information

laws noted that the author suffered an asthma attack after visiting

the office. Another person wrote that she was too sick to drive

after visiting the department.

" There are babies, young children, and senior citizens that use your

services. Subjecting them to an environment with mold is

unacceptable, " one of the complaintants wrote.

Health department workers, who did not want to go on record, or

mention their names, said that children have had asthma attack flare-

ups while visiting the department and others have complained of cold-

like symptoms. Some workers said that they blame the mold for recent

illnesses and one employee suspects that mold coats vast areas of

wood, drywall, carpeting and plumbing in the building that the

health department has occupied since 2001. Several agencies are

housed in the Mill Beach Road building including the health

department. Last month, Curry County Health and Human Services open

an office in the same space.

White said that when Curry County Health and Human Services moved

into the cramped building just weeks ago, the shuffling and

transport of papers and documents could have stirred mold spores,

intensifying the pungent mold oder inside the building.

At press time, county officials were still unsure of who was

responsible for cleaning up the mold or if it was even mold that was

making visitors sick.

The county leases the Mill Beach Road building that houses county

health and social services. That leaves Curry officials questioning

whether the responsibility to clean the mold falls on the county or

the landlord.

" There's nothing I can do. I have no (jurisdiction over) the

building, " White said. " The question is, whose responsibility is it

to fix it? "

~~~

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doesn't recommended

that people test for mold or sample mold to determine the strain if

toxic mold contamination is suspected. Testing is simply too

expensive. And mold carries health risks regardless of the strain.

" If you are susceptible to mold and mold is seen or smelled, there

is a potential health risk; therefore, no matter what type of mold

is present, you should arrange for its removal, " the CDC advises.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that there is no

practical way to eliminate all mold and mold spores in the indoor

environment. The only way to control mold growth is to control the

moisture that allows mold to thrive, the agency notes.

Health department and human services workers recently acknowledged

the pungent odor and visitors commented on the smell. Black speckles

covered edges of the interior where walls meets ceiling. One corner

sported a brown water stain covered by more black spots.

Molds produce tiny spores that continually waft through the air.

When the spores land on a damp spot, they may go into grow mode and

consume whatever they are growing on in order to survive, the EPA

reports.

Mold can cause an array of health problems from respiratory

illnesses to fevers and rashes. Young children exposed to mold are

at an even higher risk of developing breathing problems, according

to the CDC and American Lung Association.

Oregon mold abatement experts say that the fungi thrives in the

rainy, coastal areas of the state. But county officials say that

they have little experience eradicating mold in government

buildings. A few people told the Pilot that other county building in

Gold Beach also smell of mold.

" This has not come up on the radar screen, " White said.

White said that the recent complaints of mold in the Brookings

health offices initiated an investigation into what could have

caused Boshart's illness and what party or agency is responsible for

the clean-up of mold.

" If we are responsible for it ourselves then we will get it tested

and get it cleaned, " White said.

But White said it's just too early in the complaint process to know

if it's up to the county to clean the mold. Jerry Herbage, Curry

County legal council, said he is currently investigating the extent

of the county's responsibility to clean up mold infested buildings.

While the county investigates responsibility, White said that

cleaning crews have been instructed to remove visible mold in the

building – a job that White said falls under a contract cleaning

agreement with a janitorial company.

But mold abatement professionals say that it takes more than a

bucket of soap to rid a building of mold.

" Whatever is organic in the house has to be removed, " said Dotan

Bar, supervisor with Portland's 911 Restoration, a mold abatement

company. " But once you get to the base of the house, it can be

sanitized. "

Bar said that it can take anywhere from three to ten days to remove

mold from a residential home. Walls and carpets often have to be

removed and wood must be sanded to clean the fungi. And abatement

workers treat mold-infested homes as toxic sites. They wear

hazardous waste clean-up suits and respirators and eradicate mold

using the same techniques employed to remove asbestos.

Bar uses some high-tech gear to rid homes of mold but uses old

fashioned tools to diagnose mold problems. He said that he uses his

nose to clue him into the extent and the toxicity of the mold.

" If you smell it, then you know you have a problem. "

[Guest guest]

It's a shame to see more innocent citizens exposed to these toxins

at the same time becoming very ill. They are addressing the

situation now, but only after the fact. Again, when all of this

could have been prevented. Just by a general IAQ inspection. We all

have been through the ropes one time or another, especially in the

early stages, at your worst moments when you were enduring

unbelievable pain, confusion, severe reaction and yes, even

infection.

What did we do, we contacted the health department, not much help

there. No information whatsoever. Contact the EPA, not much help

there either, contact OSHA, same response, contact CDC, no response.

Now What?! Why do they keep putting this off and ALLOWING more to be

exposed? It is well documented and has been for a long time.

Several months ago I had the opportunity to be a part of an IAQ

conference call for the regional managers of the EPA and others

including Ken Hudnell discussing this issue.

One of my concerns was the lack of information that the Health

Departments had on hand. Our health department had one brochure,

that they had to search for to give me a copy of. They only had one.

Basically the information was not worth the piece of paper it was

written on. This was absurd. How can they educate the public and

prevent this from occurring, not having any knowledge of mold and

mycotoxins?

Some of the general public was having a good response from their

health department, the majority were not, in different states.

Wouldn't you think the same information from each health department

be the same? All we were asking for was general information.

I did ask Henry Slack from the EPA if the information concerning

indoor air quality was available through our local and state health

departments nationally. The answer was NO. Then I asked him if the

information was distributed throughout our state and again the

answser was NO. He had mentioned that they would look into it and

consider putting a pamphlet together for ALL health departments

nation wide.

I am proud to see that this may be occurring sometime this year. I

just found this on the web.

" Slack said the three primary focus areas of the residential

construction task force remain in place: carbon monoxide, second-

hand smoke and mold. Slack said EPA is reprinting a mold brochure

that can be sent to local building managers at no cost; the item

should become available sometime this year. "

This is long overdue, but this just goes to show we are moving in

the right direction. Hopefully the brochure will have some

substantial information and not just fluff to where the general

public will take it seriously, what to look for, how to prevent and

health conditions that may arise from this type of exposure and I'm

not talking just allergic. The public needs to be informed properly.

Henry Slack, thank you for listening and taking action on a very

serious health issue. We can still turn this around with your help

and the ones that are most informed those who have been exposed. We

know the truth.

KC

--- In , " tigerpaw2c " <tigerpaw2c@...>

wrote:

>

> TOXIC MOLD? RESIDENTS COMPLAIN OF SICKNESS-INDUCING SPORES AT

COUNTY

> HEALTH OFFICE

> Curry Coastal Pilot - Brookings,OR

>

> By Carissa Wolf

> Pilot staff writer

> http://www.currypilot.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=14632

>

> On Tuesdays and Thursdays you can get a flu shot at the health

> department. On the fourth Friday of each month you can stop by to

> check your HIV status. Breast cancer screenings are are available

by

> appointment. And everyday at the Curry County health office in

> Brookings you can inhale a dose of mold.

>