Cleanup may cost as much as $50,000 for Merimack, NH Family

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http://www.cmonitor.com/stories/news/state/mold0709.shtml

Mold forces family from home

Cleanup may cost as much as $50,000

Monday, July 9, 2001

Merrimack

MERRIMACK - It all started when Dawn O'Neil came down with a series of sinus

infections and headaches. Then she was hospitalized with hives for no

apparent reason.

Her husband, , had undergone test after test to find out why he kept

coughing up blood. And two of their three children suffered from ear

infections that never seemed to go away.

Finally, an air-quality specialist uncovered the source of the problem:

Their house was overrun with toxic levels of mold.

Now the family is living out of suitcases and paying $120 a night to stay in

a hotel room. They expect they will be there for at least another month.

Meanwhile, they are making payments on their $150,000 mortgage for a house

in which they can't live.

They also are replacing the roof and second floor of their home, which will

set them back at least $50,000. That doesn't include the cost of cleaning up

their mold-infested belongings.

Insurance doesn't cover any of the damage, so the O'Neils have signed a

home-equity loan they hope they can pay back someday.

" We would have been better off if the whole house had burned to the ground, "

said O'Neil, 35, a mechanical designer.

Their insurance company covers fire damage, but not mold.

There has been an " explosion " of mold poisoning cases in the United States,

according to Dr. Lipsey, a professor at the University of North

Florida in ville and one of the nation's leading experts on mold.

He said building materials used these days are cheap and water-absorbent,

and many homes have poor ventilation - all of which promote mold growth.

" Mold where it belongs is not harmful, " Lipsey said, but highly pathogenic

molds in a home could be deadly.

That is why the money issues are the least of the O'Neils' worries. The

family is more concerned about the long-term health effects mold may have

had on their children.

Their son, J.J., 2, is autistic. He has lived in the mold-infested house

since he was born. His mother said the previous owners also had an autistic

child.

" It's one thing to say it's a coincidence, but when you add up all the

coincidences we've had, it just doesn't seem right, " she said.

While there is no consensus, some studies have linked environmental

allergies and poor indoor air quality to learning disabilities and

behavioral disorders, including autism. The O'Neils say they didn't have the

health problems they have been experiencing - or their 11-year-old son

's attention problems in school - until they moved into the house

three years ago.

Lipsey believes the O'Neils have been exposed to stachybotrys, a slimy,

black mold that is the most toxic and lethal of all molds. He said 's

symptoms are consistent with stachybotrys poisoning.

" They do have toxic pathogenic molds in their home, " Lipsey said. " There is

no doubt. "

Lipsey said people who get leaky pipes or a hole in their roof but don't

know it have more than a 50 percent chance of having an explosion of

stachybotrys because it thrives on constant moisture. Once it dries, it

actually becomes more toxic, he said.

, owner of Criterium- Engineers of Goffstown, a home and

building inspection company, inspected the home last week. His theory is

that the mold has been there for a long time.

The family doesn't know what possessions it will be able to keep because

mold can't always be seen. It could be on things such as mattresses, couches

and clothes. The O'Neils believe all the carpeting will need to be ripped

out and replaced.

One of the first places they've turned is their lawyer's office.

Dawn O'Neil, a part-time real estate agent, said the attic was never

inspected when the family bought the house. She is planning to sue the

inspection company.

" Had he gone into the attic he would have seen this, and of course we would

have never bought this house, " she said.

" I just hope that when all is said and done, my house is safe to move back

into, " Dawn O'Neil said. " But never will we feel completely comfortable in

that house again. "