AJ Giardina investigates the dangers of mold

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AJ Giardina investigates the dangers of mold

Posted: Nov 7, 2008 09:33 PM EST

Updated: Nov 10, 2008 05:00 PM EST

http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=9314727 & nav=menu40_2

By A.J. Giardina - bio | email

HARRISON COUNTY, MS (WLOX) - Tidal surges flooded thousands of homes

and buildings following Hurricane Katrina, and more recently,

Hurricanes Gustav and Ike flooded homes in our area. A big problem

that can come with the water damage is mold.

In recent weeks, Action Reporter A.J. Giardina has received phone

calls from people who say their health has been affected by mold

growing inside their homes.

One of those calls came from the Rileys. They say they weren't

flooded, but they have a mold problem that has forced them out of

their home.

" We didn't know that we had problems with the home until after we

had been in it for four years, " Tommy Riley said.

Tommy and Darlene Riley and their two sons were living in a

manufactured home. They say one day a nephew was running in the

hallway and fell right through a wall.

" When this happened, we knew we had a problem and started

investigating, and we found, basically, the whole house was full of

mold. "

Environmentalists suggested they move out, leaving everything

behind - furniture, clothing, toys, blankets, sheets, bedspreads,

kitchen utensils and plates. That was back in 2002.

According to an engineering report, the mold resulted from water

leaking through the ridge vents on the roof, and because there was

no vapor barrier installed in the crawlspace.

" They suggested we leave everything behind because we could take the

mold spores into the new environment. We have a report from an

appraiser of $68,000 in contents that we left behind. "

Riley said a remediation company appraised the cleanup of their home

at a $100,000. He said prior to discovering the mold, all four

family members were always tired and ill and doctors couldn't tell

them what was wrong.

" What we want to accomplish here is to warn other people, if they

have mold in their homes, that it can cause a lot of danger. That if

they have some of the symptoms and that if they're not getting any

better from the way their doctors are treating them, that there is

hope out there, especially if they have been exposed to mold, "

Darlene Riley said.

Tommy Riley said, according to a specialist, the lesions on his body

are being caused by mold toxins trying to escape.

" Many of the symptoms that we had were muscle and joint pain that

moves around the body, " Tommy Riley said.

Tommy said anyone suffering from upper respiratory problems, asthma,

bronchitis, runny noses, watery eyes, itching all the time and yeast

infections, yes even in men, could be suffering from mold toxins. He

said another sign is nose bleeds. Six years ago, Tommy and Darlene's

young son woke up with blood all over his face.

" You couldn't tell whether it came from his mouth or his nose, and I

couldn't tell where it came from. I took him to the doctor and they

couldn't figure out where it came from, and they just said watch

him, " Darlene Riley said.

After getting no relief, they contacted doctors throughout the

United States, including Dr. Straus, a professor at Texas Tech

University. He's an expert on " sick building syndrome. " He said

breathing inside a mold infested home can cause serious health

problems.

" Some organisms produce very toxic compounds called mica-toxins,

fungal toxins. And we have seen some people who have been made

extremely sick by inhaling these extremely poisonous compounds, " Dr.

Straus said.

Dr. Straus has been studying sick building syndrome for 14 years.

" When mold starts, you need to stop the water intrusion and then you

need to remove the mold growth. And you ask, does mold die? Indeed,

the mold colony dies, but the spores remain and the spores are

living and they are viable. "

Dr. Straus said the remaining mold must be removed. Darlene and

Tommy Riley said they and their children are feeling better these

days, but they take a number of vitamins and medicines that help

detoxify their bodies after years of breathing in mold toxins.

Another family in Gulfport started having headaches and didn't know

why. Demetrius and Gladys Bowens also suffered from chronic fatigue

and finally realized they were getting sick from breathing in black

mold.

" We just couldn't understand what was going on, and finally we did

find a little mold in the closet, " Gladys Bowens told WLOX News.

Despite finding the mold and taking care of the problem, the Bowens

continued having health problems and didn't know why they felt

sluggish, suffered from headaches and nose bleeds.

" I used to be real motivated, always busy in the yard, got things to

do, enjoyed going fishing, taking the boat out. But it got to a

point where I began to lose energy and it was unexplained. So I

started spending a lot of time at medical. They couldn't come up

with the reasoning behind it, but always came up with a medication

based on the symptoms they saw, " Demetrius Bowens said.

One day, Demetrius noticed a water leak in the AC unit.

" In the process of taking the panels apart, I discovered that the

unit was just full of mold. "

The Bowens soon discovered all the vents in their home were full of

mold, so they decided to take precautions.

" We sleep out here on the front porch. We've got a window unit over

there. It's separate from the vents, so we don't have to breath that

as we sleep, " Gladys Bowens said. " The breathing part is better,

because the air is cleaner, but physically the energy is still not

there. "

Demetrius said the home received roof damage following Hurricane

Katrina and water dripped inside the AC unit inside a closet in

their bedroom.

When their insurance company wouldn't pay to have the mold removed

from their home, they called in Josh Atkins of Polar Artic.

" We're going to have to sanitize everything, get it all brushed off

of there. Try to clean it up as best we can. With sanitization, it

should allow it not to grow back, " Atkins said of the damage.

Every vent throughout the home showed signs of black mold.

" Take a great look at your vent and see if you can see mold growth

around it. Some people mistake the mold for being just dust, and

often times I found it's not dust, it's actually mold, " Demetrius

Bowens said.

Adkins said a fog machine will have to be used to eradicate the mold

throughout the air flow system.

" It's basically a fogger, and we use enviracom. It kills mold,

mildew, things like that and allows it not to grow back, " Adkins

said.

Once Adkins removed the AC unit, he began the cleaning process.

" The hardest thing about getting mold off is actually getting it off

the surface. Simple Green will loosen it up and bring it off and

sanitize. And you can go back with a little Lysol, something like

that, to disinfect it a little bit better, " Adkins said.

If you smell a musty odor, it could be mold.

" If you cut your AC unit completely off and allow the house to cool

somewhat, then the odor becomes stronger, " Demetrius Bowens said.

Also, just look around. Are the walls and ceilings discolored? Can

you see water damage and mold growth in the sheet rock? If you do,

those are real signs of mold infestation.

If you find a mold problem as serious as the one that faced the

Bowens, it's recommended you call in a professional.

In 2006, the American Academy of Pediatrics concluded that a

plausible link exists between acute pulmonary hemorrhage in infants

and exposure to the toxins that some molds produce.

People with asthma, allergies, or other breathing conditions may be

more sensitive to mold. Cancer patients taking chemotherapy and

those who have received an organ transplant are also more

susceptible to mold infections.

The following websites can help you learn more about fighting mold:

www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/mold/protect.asp

www.moldcankillyou.com

www.epa.gov/iap/molds/hiddenmold.html