Hazardous Homes Part I: The mold menace

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Hazardous Homes Part I: The mold menace

Wisconsin State Journal - Madison,WI*

Ron Seely

608-252-6131

rseely@...

http://www.madison.com/wsj/topstories/index.php?ntid=265804

For Madison couple Gunnar fsson and Pam Meuer, the illnesses

they have endured due to household mold are made even more difficult

by the skepticism they have encountered as they sought help.

" You go from doctor to doctor, " Meuer said. " And you're discounted,

even made fun of. But the main thing is, you don't get the help you

need ... I wanted to get better. "

fsson, 60, and Meuer, 58, first became ill in 1989 while living

in a condominium in Sweden that was eventually found to be harboring

mold on the damp concrete beneath the carpets, a classic " sick

building. "

Their health problems continued after they moved to Madison in the

early 1990s and now they are remodeling a ranch home on the city's

West Side so that they can live in it without getting sick.

Of the many toxins we are exposed to in our homes, few remain as

controversial and as problematic as mold. And, according to Dr. Jon

Ouellette, a Madison allergist who specializes in mold, more people

are likely to be dealing with the problem in their homes because of

ice dams that send water cascading down inside walls or flooding

that accompanies thaws or even from this summer's torrential rains.

Despite many personal stories of people sickened and driven from

their homes or workplaces by toxic molds, medical science is still

trying to catch up with definitive research linking mold and

illnesses.

Difficult to diagnose

A survey of scientific literature performed by a state toxicologist

found numerous case studies of people reporting similar symptoms --

chronic headache, dizziness, confusion, sinus bleeding and pulmonary

problems -- from sick buildings but a scientific cause-and-effect

relationship wasn't clear.

Studies, however, have shown a clear connection between asthma and

allergic reactions to mold, said Thiboldeaux, a toxicologist

with the Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Health who

performed the survey.

" Building-related illnesses are difficult to diagnose and

interpret, " Thiboldeaux said in his study, intended for public-

health providers who are confronted with the problem.

" Because the symptoms are nonspecific and often allergy-related,

people tend to ignore the problem, or their complaints are ignored

by others, until the symptoms become chronic. Even then, it is

difficult to make conclusive links to environmental factors. "

Dr. Henry , the state's chief medical officer and an

environmental and occupational disease epidemiologist, said mold in

homes became more of a problem beginning in the 1970s when builders

started constructing homes that were air-tight to prevent energy

loss.

Some of those homes weren't adequately ventilated and were more at

risk for mold. In recent years, he added, builders have made

improvements in materials and in ventilation.

Mold cases increasing

Dozens of mold cases have arisen in Wisconsin in recent years. Here

are a few of them:

In 1995, legal damages totalling $6.7 million were awarded to more

than 600 families who had become sickened by mold in new homes built

by the now-defunct Tri-State Homes of Mercer. The homes featured an

air-tight vapor barrier, and investigations revealed that the

company failed to adequately ventilate the homes. That led to

moisture problems that caused the growth of mold, mildew, spores and

other toxins.

In 2001, and Lynn Droegkamp were forced to move out of the

$300,000 home they had built in Merton. Family members suffered

everything from chronic nosebleeds to asthma, mononucleosis and

pneumonia. Even the family cat, Socks, vomited and had blood in its

urine while living in the home. Testing by the Waukesha County

Division of Environmental Health confirmed several kinds of mold in

the home, including the highly toxic Stachybotrys. The family's

symptoms improved after they moved into another home.

In 2002, officials in Madison closed the city's newest elementary

school, Chavez Elementary, after complaints of illnesses from

teachers and students. Mold was found behind vinyl baseboards. The

school was put back into use after a $1.2 million cleanup.

Also in 2002, a number of other schools around the state were closed

because of mold problems. Yahara Elementary in DeForest was closed

in late March after officials found mold; the school district spent

about $2 million on a cleanup that included replacement of carpet

with tile and a new ventilation system. Students at Coon Valley

Elementary in Vernon County were plagued by headaches, stomachaches

and respiratory problems that prompted a $140,000 cleanup of mold.

School districts reporting mold problems included Monona Grove,

Milton, Sun Prairie, Oconomowoc, Sheboygan and Oshkosh.

In 2002, Carleen Wild, a Madison television anchor, and her family

were forced from their Madison home after ice dams -- like those

many homeowners are dealing with this winter -- led to damp walls

and the growth of toxic mold under the eaves.

Mold awareness up

Awareness of mold as a health problem has increased dramatically

since 2000. The National Concrete Masonry Association reports that

the number of mold litigation cases in the country has increased 300

percent since 2001. The association attributes the increase to a

highly publicized lawsuit in 2001 in which an Austin, Texas,

homeowner was awarded $32 million after suing Farmers Insurance

Group for mishandling a mold claim.

Continuing skepticism about the connections between mold and health

is reflected in the response of the insurance industry to the

problem. Englund, with the Wisconsin Insurance Alliance, said

that after an " extraordinary " number of mold claims were filed in

recent years, most insurance companies nationally and in Wisconsin

rewrote homeowner policies to exclude coverage of mold-related

problems.

" Historically, " Englund said, " insurers believed mold was a

maintenance issue. Mold was something that grew on the walls of the

shower when you didn 't clean. Homeowner insurance is not about

maintenance. That was the position the industry took. "

Still, though it is happening slowly, the problems posed by mold are

more frequently being recognized and addressed.

A bill expected to be introduced in Congress early this year by Rep.

Conyers, D-Michigan, would create a national insurance program

to protect homeowners against major losses as a result of mold.

The law will call for a program similar to the national flood-

insurance program already in place.

And it would also try to address some of the questionable practices

by some so-called mold consultants by requiring the certification of

mold inspectors.

Costs of remediation can vary. But Bristol, with the National

Association of Mold Professionals, said removing mold from one

contaminated wall of a home will cost, on average, about $3,000.

That includes an inspection, mold sampling and testing, and cleanup.

Families confronted with mold and health problems sometimes have to

move from their homes or spend thousands of dollars to have the mold

removed and a home remodeled so that the mold doesn't return.

Mold connection shown

Ouellette, the retired Madison allergist who has extensively studied

mold and health, said that though the medical science has been slow

to come, there have been some important reports on the problem in

recent years.

Chief among these, he said, was a 2004 report issued by the

Institute of Medicine and paid for by the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention.

The report, characterized as a comprehensive review of the

scientific literature on mold and health, showed clear connections

between exposure to mold and a number of health problems, including

upper respiratory tract symptoms, coughing, wheezing and asthma

symptoms.

Some evidence was found of mold causing problems such as shortness

of breath, lower respiratory illness in otherwise healthy children,

and the development of asthma in susceptible people.

Ouellette also said there has been very interesting research lately

that has linked the presence of mold with the growth of bacteria

that could also be making people sick.

" The evidence is piling up, " Ouellette said.

But those who find themselves dealing with mold have little need for

more evidence.

Robin Pharo is president of Healthy Homes, a Mount Horeb company

that provides homeowners with advice on issues ranging from green

building to indoor pollutants.

Pharo said the company gets frequent calls from people who are

experiencing illness or allergic reactions to mold or other toxins

in their homes. She has no doubt there is a connection between mold

and health complaints.

Search for home

fsson and Meuer have endured years of illness because of their

exposure to mold in a condominium in Sweden.

Both have been diagnosed with hypersensitivity to chemicals, a

condition that is sometimes traced to an initial exposure to toxic

molds.

They had trouble when they moved to Madison in the early 1990s

finding doctors who would treat them and eventually turned to

alternative medicine.

They also got help from organizations they found on the Internet,

such as the American Academy of Environmental Medicine.

" That was an extremely hard time, " Meuer said. " We were sick as

dogs. To this day, there are some stores and theaters I can 't go

into ... If I go into a moldy home, a moldy building or a moldy

classroom, it doesn't take long before I can't think straight. I get

disoriented. My chest hurts. My head aches. "

Two years ago, after living in apartments that worsened their

symptoms, fsson and Meuer started searching for a home they

could remodel to remove all of the things that make them sick.

Eventually, the couple found a ranch home on Old Middleton Road on

the city's West Side. fsson liked it because the basement was

dry and the ceiling in the basement wasn't finished. That meant he

could get to the heating ducts and clean them easily.

Even after nearly two years, the task of remodeling the home

continues for fsson and Meuer. fsson spent weeks taking

apart the air ducts and carefully cleaning them.

They ripped up the carpets, put in wood floors coated with a

chemical-free varnish, and painted the walls with special chemical-

free paint.

Most recently, fsson has been ripping out the old moisture-

filled bathroom and remodeling it.

He also bought a special ventilating machine that will pull more

fresh air into the home.

Seated in their living room with its bright walls and shining wood

floors, fsson and Meuer are proud of the home they have created.

And it has returned to them their most prized possession -- their

health.

For more on mold

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Wisconsin

Department of Health and Family Services have extensive information

on their Web sites. Go to the EPA site at

www.epa.gov/mold/index.html

Or the site maintained by the Wisconsin Department of Health and

Family Services, which includes health information and studies as

well as tips on hiring mold contractors. The page is at

http://dhfs.wisconsin.gov/eh/mold/