Canada wants to make sure homes are safe after mold

[Guest guest]

It's good to see that there's another country that cares about making homes safe

for its citizens. Even though their focus is on mold in homes that have been

used to grow marijuana, their new air quality standards could apply to all homes

with mold.

Group calls for provincial standards for cleaning air after marijuana grow-op

By Montgomery

(CP)

CALGARY — Houses used for marijuana grow operations are usually an

obvious mess, dingy and littered with burst pipes, broken walls and

illegal wiring.

But even after the rows of plants are hauled away

and all visible traces of destruction cleaned up, hundreds of types of

mould can linger in the walls and floors, sickening those who

unwittingly live there next.

A new University of Calgary study

commissioned by the Alberta Real Estate Association calls on the

province to lay down rules to fix the air quality in these former drug

dens.

Standards are in place to fix the plumbing, heating and

structural damage, but air quality is not always considered, said Bill

Fowler, director of industry and government relations with the

association.

" To those people who occupy those properties, these

are huge issues, " he said. " They need to know that a property that has

been remediated as a former drug operation is safe for them to inhabit. "

Researcher

Tang Lee said the high heat and intense need for moisture of grow

operations conspire to form ideal breeding grounds for many types of

mould. In some cases, this mould infiltrates the building's walls,

lurking undetected unless specifically trained inspectors ferret it out.

Other side-effects of drug houses, such as burst pipes or malfunctioning

heaters, can also help this mould to grow.

Mould

affects the next tenants in varying ways, but can be especially

dangerous for people with comprised immune systems, cancer or

respiratory problems.

" They could be quite sick, there's been cases where it can be fatal to some

individuals, " he said.

Fowler

said he's heard anecdotal complaints from people who have lived in

fixed-up drug houses, comments like, " I'm not feeling right, I don't

feel quite up to snuff. "

But it was a review of how different

areas of the province clean up these drug dens that revealed that many

areas outside Calgary and Edmonton don't consider air quality at all.

" There

are some other communities that haven't done anything. They're just

saying, 'get rid of the marijuana plant and move right back in', " said

Lee.

An estimate puts the number of grow operations in southern

Alberta at about 5,000, said Staff Sgt. Darren Cave of the Calgary

police drug unit.

Officers who enter the houses have to wear

breathing masks and full-body suits, he said. Many of the houses have

been grow operations multiple times, causing the mould to continue to

spread.

" All this is just making that home a toxic wasteland. "

Lee's

report suggests the Alberta government needs to write strict standards

for cleaning up these grow-ops, including ensuring people who test air

quality are qualified and contractors who fix up these houses know how

to deal with mould safely.

A checklist should be created to ensure that every house is cleaned up to the

same standards, he said.

He

also suggests a registry so that people know whether the home they're

buying was once home to a grow operation, noting cleanup can cost up to

$40,000.

" Right now, you go to buy a car, you need to find out

whether it's been in a crash or not, " he said. " Likewise, a homeowner

needs to know (whether it has been a grow-op). "

Fowler said he

met with a number of politicians and Municipal Affairs Minister Ray

Danyluk about the issue, and was told to come back with more

information and a plan.

He said he plans to bring Lee's study with him to further consultations in

October.

Lee

said despite the fact that other provinces such as British Columbia

have a much higher rate of grow operations, none have any kind of

provincial legislation in place to deal with the issue of cleanup.

He said he's surprised the issue has been missed so far.

" There

is a definite health hazard and we need to address that by making sure

these homes that have been former grow-ops are safe. "

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