Video - Mold: The Hidden Danger Part 2

[Guest guest]

Mold: The Hidden Danger Part 2

WCIA-3 News - IL*

Reported by: Jindra

Tuesday, Sep 11, 2007

http://illinoishomepage.net/content/fulltext/?cid=8346

A state investigator ordered a clean up of Highland Place Apartments

in ton after seeing the problem in July. One man says it's a

problem that's been covered up for years. He knows because he

helped do it. Former maintenance man, Jim Dunne, says he was forced

to cover up the mold. Now, he says he has trouble breathing and his

lungs are damaged. His doctor told him, it's because of the mold.

" He sat me down and said, this is mold. It was shaped like a

lemon ... and stuck in my lung, " Dunne says. The 74-year-old worked

at the complex for about six years. He hasn't worked there for more

than a year, but decided to come back in July when a state inspector

came to look around.

During the visit, Inspector s spotted mold over and over

again. It's all documented in his report for the Illinois Housing

Development Authority. More than a dozen apartments with mold. Also

documented is an attempt to cover up the mold. Neighbors told

s the mold was painted over just before the inspection. That

didn't shock Dunne though, who says the cover-up used to be his job.

" We were forced to go in there, bleach it down and scrape it,

whatever you could do. Paint it with kilz and put regular paint

over it, " recalls Dunne. He says he did what he was told, and now

he's sick. Dunne wants the mold to be removed properly this time.

And s is here to make sure that happens.

" They need to have a licensed remediator come in here and test every

unit and have some type of control over why it's happening and so it

doesn't come back, " says s.

Britton, lawyer for Highland Place, says the complex is fixing

the problem--using approved chemicals and removing dry-wall. But

renters aren't waiting. They're in the process of suing the

complex. Britton says it's too early to jump to any conclusions and

there's no documented proof the mold is making anyone sick.

" We shouldn't blow anything out of proportion here. We shouldn't

immediately assume the mold that may or may not be in any of these

apartments is necessarily a health hazard; and shouldn't immediately

assume any people living in these apartments have suffered health

hazards, " says Britton.

But for some renters the fear for their health is very real.

Melinda Kivlehan says she hasn't been sick for four or five

years. " Then I moved here and in March I was in the hospital for a

week, " she says. Another renter, Regina Lenox, says her body

aches. " I'm getting sores inside of my nose and I only hurt when I

come home, " she says.

State Senator Dale Righter says besides being concerned for the

residents' health, there's another problem. The complex is getting

taxpayer money to operate. It's gotten 15 million dollars in tax

credits since it opened eight years ago, to offer affordable

housing. Righter says it's a serious concern when our money is out

there to support a program that isn't being managed correctly.

s says he has to watch over 500 properties in the state. So he

can only visit each one every three years. That means It's really a

matter of funding, and find the money needed to keep everyone safe.