Toxic mold infests valley homes

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Toxic mold infests valley homes

Leaking pipes main culprit in dry desert

By Mahr

The Desert Sun

April 22, 2002

From the outside, Chamberland's luxury home looks much like any

other on the cul-de-sac in her affluent Palm Desert neighborhood.

But inside, rolled back carpeting, displaced floor tiles and plastic covers

on furnishings are telltale signs of the insidious intruder that invaded

Chamberland's home.

Like a cancer that spreads in an unsuspecting body, mold has taken over part

of the house, forcing her out for the second time in a year and costing her

thousands of dollars.

Mold is cropping up in an increasing number of valley homes, prompting

mounting litigation as homeowners sue builders, landlords and insurers for

personal injuries and property damage they allege were caused by mold.

Although there are different kinds of mold, those capable of producing toxic

chemicals that can cause health problems are the ones generating concern.

One in particular -- Stachybotrys chartarum -- has gained notoriety because

some strains can produce an especially potent toxin.

Toxic mold made headlines earlier this month when television personality Ed

McMahon filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit because of mold in his

Coldwater Canyon home.

Riverside County's Environmental Health Department gets about 25 to 50 calls

a week from people concerned about mold in homes or buildings, said Steve

Uhlman, senior industrial hygienist.

The calls increase when mold-related stories such as McMahon's lawsuit

appear in the media, he said.

Concern about mold contamination and its possible health threat was

significant enough to trigger enactment of a new law in California last

year.

The Toxic Mold Protection Act signed by Gov. Gray went into effect in

January. It mandates the setting of standards for mold identification and

cleanup and requires that mold problems be reported to a home buyer or

lessee.

Desert residents can't escape exposure to mold despite living in a dry

climate. All it takes is water damage resulting from leaky plumbing and

other sources for mold to spread beneath carpets and inside walls.

Rarely heard of a decade ago, toxic mold has surfaced in homes and buildings

across the country, including in the Coachella Valley, with increasing

frequency.

Palm Desert attorney Gilliland Jr., who is representing Chamberland

in her suit against a builder, handled his first toxic mold case six years

ago. Today, he's involved in nearly a dozen mold-related cases.

" They're getting more and more prolific, " Gilliland said.

He cited several reasons for the increased instances of mold exposure,

including the growth in home construction.

" When homes are built at a rapid pace, sometimes mistakes are made, "

Gilliland said.

As an example, an improperly installed shower tile system can cause water to

work its way behind a wall and create the damp conditions in which mold

grows.

Changes in construction materials also are a factor, Gilliland said. Certain

types of newer building materials containing cellulose, for example, support

mold growth, he said.

Critics say the issue of mold contamination has been blown out of proportion

by overzealous attorneys. They say that when mold does occur in a desert

home, it's most often the fault of the homeowner.

" Attorneys have found a new building defect way to sue -- toxic mold, " said

Ed Kibbey, executive director of the Building Industry Association, Desert

Council.

Construction defect lawsuits generate millions of dollars in damages because

insurance companies settle rather than challenge the suits, he said.

Blame game: Kibbey said mold problems in people's homes, for the most part,

are caused by the homeowners themselves for failing to promptly address

conditions that can lead to mold growth.

" They have a broken pipe and they don't fix it or they take steamy showers

and don't use the bathroom exhaust fan, " he said.

Gilliland contends the initial problem in Chamberland's home was an

improperly installed shower tile system.

Chamberland said she first suspected a problem when she noticed an odor in

her home early in 2001. " I said it was mold but everyone said I was crazy. "

Then black mold started coming through the bathroom tile and nearby

carpeting was getting wet.

After testing confirmed the presence of Stachybotris chartarum, her

bathrooms had to be ripped apart so the mold could be contained and removed.

Chamberland left her home in June of last year and didn't return until

September when the work was completed.

But that didn't end her problems. Recently, she said she smelled mold in her

kitchen. She said she is moving out of her home until the source of the mold

is found and the contamination removed.

Chamberland said exposure to the mold has caused her and her daughter health

problems ranging from difficulty breathing to burning eyes.

" At college my daughter was fine. After she came home she was sick, " she

said.

An interior designer, Chamberland said the ordeal has affected her work,

too. " I just can't concentrate -- we've been through hell, and I'm a wreck. "

Hazel Shore and her husband, Palmer, discovered they had mold in late

2000, just a few months after moving into their $280,000 custom-built home

in the Cathedral City cove.

Wet carpeting and a dank, moldy smell alerted them to the problem that

affected half of their 3,000-square-foot home.

It was determined that during construction, no vapor barrier had been put in

to prevent water from coming up through the floor, said Gilliland, who also

represents the couple in their lawsuit against the builder.

And, because the ground had not been graded properly, water drained toward

the house rather than away from it, he said.

For the next 16 months, Shore and Palmer put up with all the work that was

required to remove the mold from their home. The two writers remained in

their home but had to remove the carpeting from half the house, relocate the

ir offices to the living room and move from their bedroom to a guest room.

Today, the work is about finished except for checking wall cavities to make

sure there is no mold there. But the couple is not experiencing a sense of

relief.

" It's like cancer, " Shore said. " Is the house in remission and will (mold)

come back? "

Attorney Jeff Yoss of the law firm of Middlebrook, Kaiser and Popka also is

handling several mold-related cases. He is representing the defendants in a

couple of them.

The plaintiffs are alleging a mold problem because of water penetration, but

Yoss and his clients are contesting the nature, scope and extent of the mold

as well as abatement procedures used to remove it.

In less serious cases, abatement doesn't have to be a major undertaking,

Yoss said. The water leak is repaired and then a bleach solution can be used

to clean up the mold, he said.

Where to turn: Uhlman said when people call the health department concerned

about mold in homes and buildings, they're referred to a state Web site for

help.

There is no local program to assist them, and the state has provided no

guidance to local agencies in developing programs, he said.

That's expected to change because of the state's new toxic mold law.

In a statement issued in February, the state Department of Health Services

said no changes will take effect until new regulations are issued.

The law requires the department, with the assistance of a task force, to

develop new standards and guidelines. But under its provisions, the law only

will be implemented to the extent the department determines funds are

available.

In their statement, department officials said what happens next depends on

whether funding is provided in the 2002-03 budget to carry out programs and

activities.

But regardless of what kind of help becomes available, residents who

encounter serious mold contamination face an uphill battle with financial,

emotional and sometimes health consequences.

Ways to prevent mold problems inside homes

Inspect your home regularly for indications and sources of indoor moisture

and mold such as plumbing leaks, leaky roofs and sprinkler spray hitting the

house.

Take steps to eliminate sources of moisture as quickly as possible.

If a leak or flooding occurs, act quickly and do the following:

Stop the source of the leak or flooding.

Remove excess water with mops or wet vacuum.

Whenever possible, move wet items to a dry and well-ventilated area or

outside to expedite drying.

Move rugs and pull up areas of wet carpet as soon as possible.

Open closet and cabinet doors and move furniture away from walls to increase

circulation.

Run portable fans to increase air circulation. Do not use the home's central

blower if flooding has occurred in it or in any of the ducts. Do not use

fans if mold may have already started to grow.

Run dehumidifiers and window air conditioners to lower humidity.

Do not turn up the heat or use heaters in confined areas because higher

temperatures increase the rate of mold growth.

If water has soaked inside the walls, it may be necessary to open wall

cavities, remove baseboards and/or pry open wall paneling.

Source: California Department of Health Services.

Mahr covers courts and higher education for The Desert Sun. She

can be reached at (760) 775-4207 or via e-mail at

.Mahr@....