Toxic mold causes family to become ill and drives them from their Inverness home

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Household of Mold

Toxic mold causes family to become ill and drives them from their Inverness

home

02/13/02

Jan Witherspoon

Three years ago when Morelli bought a home for her family, she had no

idea it would turn into a nightmare.

Mold - toxic mold - is pervasive throughout the house and yard, an expert

says. The Morelli family had to leave their life and personal belongings

behind when they left the house in September. The beds, television and

clothes are still in the charming 1920s cottage in Inverness.

Dr. Lipsey, a consulting toxicologist in ville, took samples

from the yard and house for testing.

" It looks like the situation in her back yard where the plumbing wasn't

installed properly caused a buildup of toxic mold and bacteria, " Lipsey

said. " It invaded her home, and they had to move out. I took environmental

samples and found high levels of pathogenic mold. "

Those molds, Lipsey said, attack mainly the immune and respiratory systems.

The three children and Morelli all have a chronic cough. For 47-year-old

Morelli, the problems started with a rash on her hands, but it soon spread

to the rest of her body. Morelli, 13, missed 20 days of school the

first year they lived in the house and since then she continues to miss

school because of respiratory problems. Morelli, 11, also has health

problems as well as Morelli's 27-year-old son.

Morelli said the problems originated in the back yard where the plumbing

from a washer in an outside shed drained toward the house and some of the

water remained standing under the house.

" The plumbing from the washer was illegally connected to the sewer system, "

Morelli said. " It did this for maybe 15 years. It wasn't until the shed and

deck were removed that we found the problem. "

Although Morelli was given a clear title to her home and property. There was

a problem with the edge of the shed and deck encroaching on the neighbor's

property. According to city code, the shed and deck should have been 7½ feet

away from the property line.

Morelli believes if the encroachment situation had been taken care of, her

family's health would not be in jeopardy.

The water from the washing machine drained and remained under a bedroom,

which Morelli and her kids have dubbed the " black hole. " She said it seems

to be the room that is the major source of their illness. Each family member

had taken turns sleeping in that room during the past three years. But it is

Morelli's son, Jimmie White, who slept in the room for the longest period of

time. Since then he has made several trips to the emergency room with chest

pains. He too has a chronic cough.

" For the last three years I've been putting my kids to bed in this and didn'

t know it, " she said.

Lipsey discovered 15 different toxic molds on the premises of Morelli's

house.

" Mycotoxin is a chemical produced by mold to kill other molds, " Lipsey said.

" It protects the mold's territory, but it's many times more toxic than the

mold itself. Some of the mycotoxins can be hundreds of times more toxic than

the mold itself. "

The level of mycotoxins found in blood tests on each family member is high,

according to the test results.

" Her house is heavily contaminated, " Lipsey said, " and not safe for her

family. They have a significantly suppressed immune system. "

The symptoms that may be caused by a toxic level of molds in the body

include any of the following: skin infections and flu symptoms, intermittent

local hair loss, chronic fatigue, respiratory infections, malaise,

suppressed immune system and pulmonary hemorrhage in infants.

The Morelli family has seen doctors in Citrus County, Boca Raton and New

Mexico. It took four months to get an appointment with a doctor in Arizona,

who Morelli said is the only doctor who treats mold poisoning. The family's

appointment is next month, and they will have brain, lung and heart tests to

see what the mold has done.

Lipsey is the only consulting toxicologist in the United States who has a

Ph.D. in mold poisoning. He serves as an expert witness in his field.

To clean up a toxic-mold-infected area, Lipsey said whoever does it must

wear biohazard suits, rubber gloves and a high efficiency filter that

removes irritants and allergens.

Molds are common in the environment, Lipsey said, but not at the levels

found in the Morelli home. He said he thinks the county health department

should probably get involved in this case.

" Their home needs remediation (decontamination), " Lipsey said. " Molds have

airborne spores and if it hits a dry, cool area, spores won't germinate. But

if there's leaks or moisture, you can get rapid reproduction. "

Lipsey has about 200 sick building cases he is handling currently and about

40 percent are mold related. New buildings can also have cases of toxic mold

if there is poor construction with cracks or pipe areas that are not

caulked.

Improperly sealed windows can also be a source of mold buildup. Lack of

proper drainage and water buildup, lack of sunlight and a nutrient base like

paint or wallpaper can create a condition for mold buildup.

" If you suspect or visibly see molds - black molds are the worst - and if

everybody in the house has upper respiratory problems, it wouldn't do any

harm to have the home tested, " Lipsey said.