Ill workers blame mold in building

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Reports by both the American College of Environmental and Occupational Medicine

and the Institute of Medicine conclude there is no evidence to support claims

that illnesses can be caused by inhaling mold toxin in " non-occupational

settings " where the mold is not concentrated into " fungal aerosols, " when

something causes the fungus to become a mist.

http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/metro/2010-02-11/ill-workers-blame-mold-buildi\

ng?v=1265853365

Ill workers blame mold in building

City advised 6 years ago to clean up

By Adam Folk

Staff Writer

Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010

While water leaks are at the forefront of employee's minds, a much bigger

problem is growing behind the walls of the Richmond County Law Enforcement

Center.

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Sheriff's Col. works in his Richmond County Law Enforcement Center

office, where black mold is growing on the window sill. He says tests proved his

headaches, sore throats and breathing problems are caused by mold allergies:

" I'm allergic to molds and horses -- and I ain't around horses. "

Mold grows on the window sill in Col. 's office at the Law

Enforcement Center.

Throughout the aging facility, employees complain of constant headaches,

shortness of breath and cold-like symptoms that persist for weeks and months.

Otherwise healthy individuals with no history of allergies say they now rely on

antibiotics and allergy medicine to get them through the week.

And while some of it can be explained as the seasonal flu or another common

sickness, most of the employees place the blame on the thick black mold that has

infested the walls and ceilings of the law enforcement center.

There is little Ann Gibbs can do to avoid the building she believes has

made her gravely ill for more than a decade. The finance director for the

sheriff's department works in a small portable just outside the sheriff's office

but her job requires that she still make regular trips inside. Each time, she

can't help but feel sorry for her co-workers who don't have the option of

leaving.

" We don't know the long-term effect of this, " she said. " It's really scary. "

Gibbs moved into the law enforcement center in 1993 and by the time she left 12

years later, she was taking 10 prescription medications -- including steroids

and antibiotics -- to stop the inflammation in her lungs and air passages. She

would go months unable to speak above a whisper.

A test by her doctor eventually revealed Gibbs had mold allergies.

" I was the only one during that time who had the chronic symptoms, " she said.

" Since then there are many more. "

In 2004, complaints by Gibbs and others prompted the city to hire an engineering

firm to conduct a mold survey of the building.

Investigators found 17 types of mold spores inside. According to the report, the

mold levels are " excessive " in the building and could " possibly cause elevated

respiratory health risk for certain personnel working in the building that are

sensitive to mold. "

The report recommended officials repair the water leaks and other drainage

problems contributing to the mold's growth, then have it professionally removed.

Six years later, that hasn't happened.

Officials finished cleaning up after one of the worst spills in recent memory

this week. A broken pipe dumped water into three offices on the second floor

late last month and soaked an employee.

Sheriff Ronnie Strength said he is working with the commission to move his

people out of the building. Two sites, an old furniture store in the Southgate

Shopping Center on Gordon Highway and the parking lot across the street from the

current building, are being considered as places to relocate. Strength said he

knows people have reported being sick but he can't say whether the building is a

factor.

" I can confirm we have had complaints from folks but I, not being a professional

on mold, cannot confirm it, " he said.

Even the professionals aren't sure of the effects breathing mold can have on

people.

Researchers know eating mold -- specifically the mycotoxins molds produce -- can

cause infections. What is not clear is whether mold toxins evaporate into the

environment in numbers that would make people ill.

Reports by both the American College of Environmental and Occupational Medicine

and the Institute of Medicine conclude there is no evidence to support claims

that illnesses can be caused by inhaling mold toxin in " non-occupational

settings " where the mold is not concentrated into " fungal aerosols, " when

something causes the fungus to become a mist.

They use the example of silo workers as those who have experienced an

" influenza-like syndrome " from breathing fungal aerosols in the confines of a

silo. But because the mycotoxins are relatively large molecules and not apt to

evaporate into the environment, the theory remains unproven.

Several studies have found associations between dampness in a building and

asthma symptoms. However, damp indoor environments can also promote the growth

of bacteria and dust mites, making it difficult for researchers to identify

which one contributes most to respiratory problems.

Sheriff's Col. doesn't need much more explanation. Just this week he

underwent an allergy test that showed his headaches, sore throats and shortness

of breath are caused by mold allergies.

Underneath his window sill is a small colony of the black fungi, and he's sure

its causing him to be sick.

" I'm allergic to molds and horses -- and I ain't around horses, " said.

Legal action unlikely, attorney says

The chance that anyone could successfully sue the city of Augusta based on any

health problems caused by the Richmond County Law Enforcement Center is a " long

shot, " according to Mike Brown, a local civil trial attorney.

Brown has won discrimination cases against the city but he said legal action

based on problems in the building would be a very different case.

Georgia's workers compensation law provides immunity to employers for

work-related injuries and the city enjoys " sovereign immunity " as long as they

exercise their discretion in good faith.

" Basically as long as they are doing it in good faith, to get up over that

threshold to bring an immunity-free suit would be very difficult, " he said.

One scenario would be if officials " established a pattern or practice where they

violated civil rights, " he said.

Essentially, employees would have to prove the city continued to subject them to

an environment that they knew was harmful over a long period of time.

Otherwise, Brown said, employees could file a complaint with the Occupational

Safety and Health Administration.

-- Adam Folk, staff writer