Craner, McManus offer crash course on mold to Nye County

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Craner, McManus offer crash course on mold

By HENRY BREAN, Managing Editor January 31, 2002

Dr. Craner addresses the audience during Wednesday's meeting regarding

the mold situation at Pahrump Valley High School. (PVT photo by Henry Brean)

Carbon-based building materials, water ideal mold breeding ground

An audience of about 70 people received a crash course in toxic mold

Wednesday night, when the Nye County School District held its second

informational meeting about the contamination of Pahrump Valley High School.

On hand to provide insight and answer questions were Dr. Craner and

McManus. Craner is an expert in occupational and environmental

medicine who has been heavily involved in mold situation at the Nye County

Government Complex in Pahrump. McManus is a certified industrial hygienist

and president of Environmental Health Services, Inc, the Las Vegas firm that

discovered the presence of the toxic mold Stachybotrys chartarum while

taking samples at PVHS.

According to Craner, so-called " sick building syndrome " has been around for

about 40 years, though it has only recently been identified as such. Before

that, illnesses associated with exposure to toxic mold in buildings were

widely misdiagnosed as things such as viral infections, allergies and even

asthma. It still is, Craner said.

Sick building syndrome came about as a result of a broad change in building

practices, which lead to the widespread use of sheetrock and other materials

containing carbon, Craner said. For building mold to grow, it requires " a

lot of water " and a carbon-containing surface, preferably in the dark

somewhere.

McManus said there are roughly 100,000 different species of mold - some

hazardous, some beneficial.

There appear to be at least that many different theories on the health risks

associated with mold exposure.

" This is a health problem that has been grossly under-studied, " said Craner.

" The good news is that these problems appear to be solvable. (Mold exposure)

appears to be a short-term, curable problem. The symptoms go away with

removal from the source. It does not accumulate. "

Craner added that there is currently " zero (mold) research " going on in the

United States, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control has budgeted no

money to fund any future research.

The CDC bore the brunt of much of Craner's criticism, which may have

confused some of those in attendance since a Q and A on toxic mold by the

CDC was part of the informational packet handed out at the door.

Craner said the CDC " really doesn't have good information " about mold and,

as a result, has a history of wrongly dismissing reported cases of sick

building syndrome.

" There's some real discrepancies in the science, " McManus said. " But the

knowledge is developing. "

One thing most so-called " mold experts " seem to agree on is that once mold

is found in a building it should be removed. McManus put it this way: " If

you find a burglar in your house, you want to get him out of there before he

steals something. "

As for the medical problems described by students and their parents during

Wednesday's meeting, Craner said most appeared to be consistent with what is

known about mold exposure, the effects of which " mimic cold and flu

symptoms. "

The common symptoms of exposure to toxic mold include upper respiratory

problems, sinus congestion, headache, nausea, skin irritation, fatigue and

even neurological problems. A key indicator that symptoms are mold related

is if they disappear after the patient leaves the contaminated building or

area, Craner said.

When asked by a student to rank the severity of the contamination at PVHS,

Craner hedged somewhat, noting that instances of hidden mold like this one

can be quite insidious and difficult to clean up. That said, Craner went on

to explain that " right now we're not talking about a severely infected

building ... like the Grant Sawyer Building in Las Vegas or the Pahrump

Justice Facility. "

McManus also downplayed the health risks to students and staff members at

least somewhat. Since most of the mold found so far was hidden within walls

or behind lockers or cabinets, exposure levels were likely lower than is the

mold had been out in the open, he said.

" It's serious in terms of the amount of work needed to clean it up, " McManus

said prior to Wednesday's meeting, " but it wasn't very serious in terms of

the risk level to students and faculty.

" Was there an absolute need to close the school? That's a tough question. I

think (district officials) did the right thing, " he explained. " What they

did was the most protective of the students and faculty. "

In addition to Craner, McManus and Pekarek, a host of local officials were

on hand for Wednesday's meeting. They included Assistant Supt. Wil Booker,

Director of Student Services Kay , Maintenance and Operations

Supervisor Don Brod, PVHS Principal Jerry Hill, County Public Health Officer

Maureen Budahl, and school board members Atkinson, Bobbi Hommel and

Debbie Wescoatt.

©Pahrump Valley Times 2002