mold counts within a house? what level is cinsidered to be bad?

[Guest guest]

does anyone know the acceptable levels of mold counts within a house? thank

you. jane

toangiem <twoangie@...> wrote: (Note: I copied over parts of my

mold report in this post so it's

pretty long. If you're familiar with this stuff then you may just

want to skim over it.)

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your responses - and for also letting me know that my

instincts toward anti-fungal treatment were in the right direction.

I actually live on the far south side of Charlotte so the SC doctor,

Dr. Lieberman, seems to be the best choice. I made an appointment

with him but it will not be until August since I need to save up

money and he is out of pocket.

Sooo, until such time as I can get in to see him, what should I be

doing to help myself? I hired a man to test the place for mold

before I moved out in December. I would never recommend his

services to anyone because he did a poor job, did not record areas

he found mold (which, before I even hired him, he had promised me he

would record in my report for court on impaired hability case

against my landlord. The mold guy left out this information which

killed my case.), failed to report the condition of the furnace

(filled with thick clumps of cat hair and dirt and God knows what

else), failed to record what the swab of the furnace vents

contained, failed to obtain mold samples from around the bathtub,

did not qualify his report for spore counts being lower in December

than in the summer - he used the same scale year round to determine

effects on health. This house was a nightmare and the landlord was

a slumlord. Can you tell?

So, according to this slack report generated in December, my risk

level was moderate (the count would have been much higher in summer

but, again, he measured according to the same scale so risk was

downplayed) and he wrote this later in the report " The type and

quantity of mold spore count found within the air and upon surfaces

of the apartment does not indicate a health threat. " I had messed

up and told him that one of the children on the other side of the

duplex had lived there his whole life and had asthma. I had

mentioned this to other mold inspectors that I had tried to hire to

come out and inspect the place and once I had done that, they had

all backed away. I sensed a changed in him as well when I slipped

up and mentioned this and I highly suspect that is why he downplayed

my report, left out information and decided to state I was at no

risk when the descriptions of the molds seem to indicate otherwise -

as well as some notes (disclaimers?) that it appears he was required

to include but then tried to dismiss with his own statements. He

was limited to only going in my apartment and could not access the

attic or crawlspace because my landlord blocked them off since I had

reported him to the city.

This is his scale below and he rated me Moderate:

0 - 50 Good

51 - 100 Moderate

101 - 150 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups

151 - 200 Unhealthy

201 - 300 Very Unhealthy

301 - 500 Hazardous

The molds that he found that he actually reported on were:

Fusarium spp.

A common soil fungus and inhabitant on a wide array of plants, this

fungi is often found in humidifiers and has been isolated from water-

damaged carpets and a variety of other building materials. Human

exposure may occur through ingestion of contaminated grains and

possibly through the inhalation of spores. Fusarium spp. are

frequently involved with eye, skin, and nail infections. More

severely it can produce hemorrhagic syndrome (alimentary toxic

aleukia) in humans which is characterized by nausea, vomiting,

diarrhea, dermatitis, and extensive internal bleeding.

Several species can produce the trichothecene toxins which target

the circulatory, alimentary, skin, and nervous systems. Vomitoxin is

one such tricothecene mycotoxin that has been associated with

outbreaks of acute gastrointestinal illness in humans. Zearalenone

is another mycotoxin produced by Fusarium. It is similar in

structure to the female sex hormone estrogen and targets the

reproductive organs.

Alternaria (Hyphomycetes)

A common saprobe found on decaying wood, decaying plants, food,

soil, and outdoor air. Some species are plant pathogens. Indoors, it

can be found in house dust, carpet, damp areas around showers and

window frames, and anywhere condensation occurs. Because of its

abundance and ubiquity, Alternaria is one of the most important

fungal allergens and is recognized as the chief fungal cause of hay

fever. Infection is extremely rare.

Mycotoxins

During the digestion of substrates, fungi secrete enzymes into

nutrients in order to break down complex compounds into simpler

compounds that can be taken up by the fungi and used as nutrition.

These digested nutrients produce secondary metabolic byproducts

called mycotoxins that are released to give the fungi a

competitive edge over other microorganisms and fungi. Unfortunately,

mycotoxins can also be incredibly toxic to humans causing a variety

of responses including cold/flu-like symptoms, sore throats,

headaches, nose bleeds, fatigue, diarrhea, dermatitis, and immune

suppression. Some mycotoxins may also be carcinogenic and

teratogenic. Molds that have been known to potentially produce these

toxins are Acremonium, Alternaria, Aspergillus, Chaetomium,

Cladosporium, Fusarium, Penicillium, and Stachybotrys.

Even though these molds may potentially produce mycotoxins, they

will not do so unless specific environmental conditions exist.

Currently, it is unknown exactly what conditions promote the growth

of mycotoxin production and more scientific research needs to be

conducted on this topic for it to be fully understood.

(The note below could have been helpful but...he discounted it in

the paragraph I have recorded below it.)

Note: There are no federal or governmental agencies that provide

limits or " safe levels " for mold exposure. This is due to the fact

that all individuals have different immune systems that can tolerate

exposure to molds and other allergens are different. People that are

continuously exposed to fungi through both inhalation and ingestion

with no apparent ill effects. People that are listed as high risk

are infants/children, elderly, individuals that have immune

compromised health problems such as asthma, AIDS, Hepatitis, Cancer

therapy or who take immune suppressive medications. Different mold

species can have varying health effects, but it is important to

remember that any excessive mold growth needs to be taken care of,

regardless of the species. Any excessive mold growth can lead

to increased allergies, toxicity, and house/building structural

problems. Other molds may have been present in minor counts that are

not mentioned here.

Further investigation of the crawlspace will be required to

determine the cause of mold growth and the steps to remediate the

mold. With the testing performed and the extent of access available

at the time of inspection no clear conclusions could be obtained to

determine the habitability of this apartment. The type and quantity

of mold spore count found within the air and upon surfaces of the

apartment does not indicate a health threat.

So, there it is. He says it was not a health treat but my lungs

burn and are scratchy and they were not before I lived in this

apartment. I feel good that I have an apt with a knowledgeable

doctor but it is not until August and he is out of pocket. So,

until such time as I can go there, what tests should I try to get

from other doctors covered by my insurance? Also, what can I be

doing to improve the health of my lungs until I receive medical care?

THANKS!

Angie

> dr. lieberman is in the charleston area--north charleston in

particular and dr. paul cheney is in asheville.

>

> toangiem <twoangie@...> wrote: Hi everyone, I just joined

and I'm hoping someone here may be able

> to help me. I was exposed to mold in a house I lived in for a year

> and a half. My lungs have been burning since back in the fall and

I

> moved out of the place in December. I first noticed the burning

> when the weather started to turn cold because it hurt to breathe

in

> when I went on walks. I don't cough but I almost feel like I'm on

> the verge of it but it would be such a dry cough it would not

> relieve anything. Hmmm, honestly, it's almost like a burning/itchy

> feel.

>

> I kept thinking this would clear up when the weather warmed up but

> it hasn't. I also had a reallllly bad rash on my back that I saw

> the dermatologist for before I moved from the moldy house. She

gave

> me an antibiotic prescription and another prescription for some

sort

> of cream or lotion for acne. I bought that but never opened it. I

> know antibiotics are the worst thing to combine with anything

fungal

> and I wanted to wait and see if it would clear up after I moved.

> Sure enough, it took a few months but my back is now clear. Funny

> how the doctor couldn't make the connection even though I told her

> the place was moldy. I kept hoping I would have the same luck with

> my lungs and they would feel better but that problem hasn't

cleared

> and my lungs still burn.

>

> Since I have been exposed to mold, I'm thinking that the best

> treatment for me may be a systemic antifungal but I doubt that is

a

> treatment many doctors offer. My guess is that most would be more

> inclined to treat symptoms than to go after the cause. Of course,

> I'm not certain since this is a new thing for me so I want to find

a

> knowledgable doctor to help me and, hopefully, clear up whatever

is

> going on with my lungs before it turns into something really bad

and

> permanent...if it's not already. This is out of the area of

> expertise for all of my other doctors. Does anyone have any

> suggestions on a good doctor? I'm willing to drive for a good one.

>

> Thanks,

>

> Angie

>

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