Toxic mold found in homes can make residents ill

[Guest guest]

Note: Dr. Wedner, a Washington University allergist refers to

stachybotrys as an " allergen " instead of a toxin. Want to bet he's also one

of those folks who give his patients antibiotics too? When are these

allergists going to read the Mayo study?

http://www.kmov.com/news/News_stories/NEWS_020205_toxic_mold.html

Toxic mold found in homes can make residents ill

February 5, 2002 10:00 PM

Watch streaming video of this story at website above

Ray Preston

St. s, Mo. (KMOV) -- You probably think you know your own home inside

and out. But right now, there could be something growing inside your walls,

in the cupboards or under the sink that some say has actually ruined their

lives. It could be in your home and you might not even realize it.

Twice a year, Dan Hartman would clean out the basement of his home in St.

s.

" And I would get deathly ill down there, " he says.

And it seemed he would become sick every time.

" I'm healthy, but I would come out and mow my grass and my knees would start

buckling, and my joints all hurt, and I was all congested. My chest would

hurt when I breathed. I had no idea what was happening to me, " Hartman says.

And it wasn't just Hartman.

" My wife got bilateral pneumonia. She was coughing up quarter-size blood

clots, " he says. " My kids were all deathly ill. "

When Hartman saw a story on toxic mold growing in homes, he did some

detective work in his basement.

" I went around. I couldn't see because this was a solid wall, but that water

heater was just going drip, drip, drip and it rolled along this wood and it

came underneath the sink vanity right here. There was a nice big colony

there, " he says as he indicates where he found the mold.

Scientists have identified more than 100,000 different types of mold. Its

spores are all around us. Most are harmless. Your reaction to mold spores

will vary from no reaction to allergic responses to life-threatening

diseases and infections.

Mold problems shut down construction work at the Eagleton Courthouse. At

Lambert, the airport police blame mold in the police station for causing

serious illness. The Parkway School District paid thousands of dollars for

mold and asbestos removal at Parkway South High School and more than $6

million to fix conditions so the mold wouldn't return.

Doug Mueller of Safety Support Services, Inc., trains architects,

contractors and engineers on how to identify and remove mold.

" A lot of people are concerned it's going to be the new asbestos, " he says.

Up until the last few years, many people just didn't know mold could be such

a problem. But now awareness is growing, in part because the insurance

industry is realizing how expensive a problem it can be.

" If you disturb it and you're not properly trained or not taking proper

precautions, you can contaminate a whole building with these allergens, "

Mueller says.

And it would be extremely expensive to clean an average size home in St.

Louis with a massive contamination.

" A big job like that could cost a few hundred thousand dollars, " Mueller

says.

Carole Baras has been selling homes for 18 years in St. Louis. Last year,

she made over 80 transactions. In all that time, she says she's never had a

buyer or seller ask about toxic mold.

But she says the St. Louis Association of Realtors is handing out pamphlets

with mold information. It's also printing up brand new disclosure forms for

sellers to fill out that specifically ask not only about radon gas, but now

whether the home has been tested for mold.

" Sellers are obligated to disclose anything they are aware of that's going

to be pertinent to the structure, or for any hazardous situation with the

property, " she says.

" Mold is like many other things in this world -- virtually ubiquitous, " says

Dr. Wedner, a Washington University allergist.

Wedner has studied mold in the St. Louis area, including stachybotrys, or

black mold. It's the mold many people blame for causing health problems.

" Is this the horrible mold everyone's made it out to be? Or, has it gotten

as bad as it were and the data to date has suggested that stachybotrys has

gotten a bad rap, " Wedner says.

But don't try to convince Dan Hartman mold is not the cause of his problem

for himself and his family.

" Ben's doctors said Ben can be exposed to none of this stuff. If he's

exposed to that stuff this is what he sounds like, " Hartmans says, breathing

heavily.

Hartman has sealed off the basement. He says it's a biohazard. Everything is

full of mold spores. The kids' games are untouched. He's a former navy

aviator and his uniform hangs in the closet. He says he won't touch it.

" Five years of not knowing drives me nuts. And if you told me five years ago

that toxic mold would ruin my life, I'd have said, 'Get out! No way!' It's

devastating this stuff, " he says.

As it gets more attention, people are finding it in their homes. A couple of

years ago, a West County company that deals in asbestos and lead removal

would get 5 to 10 calls a year asking about toxic mold. The company now gets

that many each week.

So, if you're worried about your home, how do you do some detective work of

your own around the house? We'll tell you Wednesday on News 4 at 10 and show

you what causes the mold and where to find it.