The mold menace - Hazardous Homes Part I

January 7, 2008

Hazardous Homes Part I: The mold menace

Ron Seely

January 6, 2008

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 http://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/

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January 7, 2008

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