Toxic mold a growing headache

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http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/2730526.htm

Posted on Mon, Feb. 25, 2002

Toxic mold a growing headache

Moisture usually to blame in energy-efficient homes; pulmonary hemorrhage,

memory loss among woes

By Alan J. Heavens

Knight Ridder Newspapers

To the asbestos, radon, lead paint and other household environmental hazards

that give real estate agents headaches, add one more:

Toxic mold.

Concern about the potential health risks of certain kinds of mold has

resulted in a number of highly publicized incidents and court cases in the

last two years, especially in California and Texas.

The Delaware Supreme Court upheld a $1.04 million award on May 7 to two

women whose landlord failed to address leaks and mold problems in their

apartments, resulting in asthma attacks and other health problems.

Mold thrives most often in moist conditions. Moisture combined with a

nutrient source such as soil, dust and products containing cellulose or

other dead organic matter provides the ideal environment for colonization.

Though indoor mold always has been a problem, it has been aggravated by

changes in construction techniques brought on by the energy crisis of the

1970s. Efforts to create energy-efficient houses without accompanying

efforts to regularly exchange the air inside have been linked by the

American Lung Association to a dramatic increase in cases of asthma in the

last three decades.

``There is a heightened sensitivity to all environmental issues because of

heightened air-quality concerns,'' said , an executive with ATC

Associates Inc. of Downers Grove, Ill., a nationwide environmental

consulting and engineering firm.

Not every mold is a potential hazard, said. Without mold, for

instance, all cheese would taste the same, and we'd have no penicillin.

Still, some segments of the population, such as asthmatics, are more

sensitive to certain kinds of mold, especially when it is airborne.

The chief concern of late has been with Stachybotrys chartarum, or ``black m

old.'' While less common than other molds, this one is more dangerous to

humans because it can, given the proper environmental conditions, create

multiple toxic chemicals called mycotoxins.

These toxic byproducts exist in the spores of the mold, as well as in the

tiny fragments that can become airborne. Of particular concern is the threat

that humans will inhale and ingest these toxic spores.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are few

case reports that toxic molds inside homes can cause unique or rare health

conditions such as pulmonary hemorrhage or memory loss. A causal link

between the presence of a toxic mold and these conditions has not been

proved, the CDC says.

But its argument holds little sway with Clinton, who settled his

family into their house in Chalfont, Pa., after moving from Florida more

than two years ago.

After living in the house for a while, Clinton said, he started misplacing

things. His wife began hyperventilating at night. His 9-month-old son

developed upper-respiratory infections. His 3-year-old son had watery eyes,

a runny nose and coughed a lot.

The culprit, Clinton said, was mold. The source: moisture from water leaks.

Clinton is spending more than $100,000 to rid the house completely of mold

before he and his family can move back in. He also has embarked on a

campaign to persuade the Pennsylvania Legislature to enact a ``Toxic Mold

Protection Act,'' which would educate the public about the dangers of mold

and set up standards for identification and remediation.

The cleanup has been painstaking, said Jim Mellon, president of Mellon

Certified Restorations in Yeadon, Pa., which Clinton hired to do the work.

``Jobs such as this depend on the extent of the mold,'' said Mellon, whose

two- to four-person crews have been working at the house since November.

``The sources of the mold have to be located, the areas have to be

contained, material removed under controlled circumstances, then vacuumed,

washed and vacuumed again.''

Drywall is porous, and if there's mold, it is all over the place. Hard

furniture such as tables can be cleaned, but soft furniture such as couches

have to be gotten rid of. ``Air tests are taken before the job begins and

after we are finished,'' Mellon said.

Other homeowners have taken more dramatic steps to get rid of mold.

On Feb. 14, Steve and Porath of Foresthill, Calif., burned their

mold-contaminated house, including their possessions, to the ground. The

couple, who blamed toxic mold for their children's illnesses and learning

disabilities, lost about $90,000, including the $7,000 spent getting the

house ready to burn.

``If you removed everything that could contribute to mold growth in a house,

you'd be left with the foundation and asphalt shingles on the roof,'' said

, of ATC Associates. ``Unfortunately, everything that makes living in

a house so pleasant is equally pleasant to the mold.''

Clinton's homeowners insurance has paid only $6,000 of his remediation bill,

he said, even though the insurer, whom Clinton is suing, sent in experts who

confirmed the presence of black mold.

Can a routine home inspection detect the presence of mold? Although a lot of

it is hidden, ``there are telltale signs that a home inspector is trained to

locate,'' said Rick Ray of Montco Pest Control in Montgomery County, Pa.

A musty smell is one indication, but inspectors should check the top floor

for a leaky roof as well looking for obvious signs such as discolored walls

or wet areas underneath sinks, he said.

The Arizona Department of Health Services, noting that ``there are a few

available standards for judging what is an acceptable quantity of mold,''

worries that a lot of people who shouldn't be involved in mold inspection

and remediation are.

Will Humble, a state epidemiologist, cited a newspaper recruitment ad by a

company looking for mold inspectors.

The headline read: ``Mold is gold.''