How about fixing woman's mould-infected home?

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How about fixing woman's mould-infected home?

Vancouver Province - Vancouver,British Columbia,Canada*

, The Province

Published: Friday, March 21, 2008

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=1dc58d94-589c-

4016-ab2b-590785d4f143

There's no way Jodie 's landlady doesn't know about the

black slimy mould-like colonies that keep advancing along the walls

and buckling the lino of her upstairs bathroom.

Ever since the 50-year-old and her daughter developed chronic

fatigue, wheezing and asthma more than four years ago, she's been a

pain in the backside of the manager of the B.C.-subsidized complex

in Surrey.

's attempts at scrubbing and repainting have accomplished

little: gunk keeps seeping through the walls and blackening the wood

subfloor under the vinyl.

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Font:****To buoy her case for a thorough dry-out and repair or

change in residence, (no relation) showed the manager of

Newton Green her doctor's health warnings to get out as well as the

test results from mould specialists and restoration companies'

investigations.

They aren't pretty: Stachybotrys, a fungus with spores that can emit

poisons called mycotoxins, was detected. So was Aspergillius,

Penicillium, Cladosporium and Chaetomium, all of which invade

drywall, wallpaper, ceiling tile, particleboard, insulation backing,

paper vapour barriers and wood if the materials remain soggy and wet.

suspects the culprit is what looks like a soft, pulpy patch

of roof not far from the location of the bathroom that is breeding

moss.

Restoration and mould-remediation guys tested her home in 2004 and

found most of the bathroom floor and walls were soggy and decaying.

The estimate to gut the room, dry it out and renovate was under

$3,000.

Nothing was done.

Then in July 2006 the women were found by their family doctor to be

experiencing respiratory-obstructive symptoms.

" This has the potential of becoming a disease causing permanent

damage to the lungs, " the physician warned. " These patients must be

relocated at once. "

But despite the alarms and sick-house diagnoses of specialists,

neither B.C. Housing, which helps low-income, disabled tenants like

, nor the Semiahmoo Peninsula Affordable Housing Society,

owner of the 52 townhomes, seem willing to tackle the job or arrange

an affordable alternative.

Oh, they did offer another townhouse in the 1999-built

complex but tell-tale black spots were discovered in window sills

and behind plastic base linings there as well. No thanks, she said,

or words to that effect.

So SPAHS found what looks like an easy out: It has handed

an eviction order, saying she doesn't qualify for a large unit since

her ill daughter left.

Renters with money in their pocket would be long gone but 's

disability pension doesn't near satisfy B.C.'s rent demands. She

needs a hand from housing.

She also worries that the next family won't realize they have to

kill the contaminates at their source, that masking with paint is

not enough.

Unfortunately, I can't tell you why the non-profit agency and the

B.C. government have dragged their heels on this or if anyone is

making sure the home is disinfected and contaminate-free before

letting it to another unsuspecting family.

Newton Green's office is closed until next week. There was just a

recording at SPAHS and B.C. Housing's portfolio manager for the

complex wasn't in at all yesterday.

So I'll pose the question here: How about it, guys?

- - -

Phone: 604-605-2119.

jthompson@...