Toxic mold - Media frenzy feeds fear

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May 11, 2002

Toxic mold

Media frenzy feeds fear

By WAYNE FALDA

Tribune Staff Writer

Employees of Decontamination Services LLC remove wallboard contaminated

with black mold from a building in Cass County.

Tribune Photo/SHAYNA BRESLIN

Stachybotrys chartarum, shown here magnified, is a rare, toxic form of mold.

Photos provided

Ralph s and Loretta Gaiera left their Elkhart home after it became

infested with mold and their children fell ill. The home was later broken

into by runaways, who set it afire.

The house of Ralph s and Loretta Gaiera, on Plainfield Drive in

Elkhart, became infested with toxic mold, which spread when s pulled out

a section of contaminated drywall.

Tribune Photos/REBECCA BELLING

Mold, one of the most primitive life forms on Earth, has gone about the work

of decomposition for millions of years with quiet determination.

That anonymity is fading.

" Like the old asbestos scare ... this is the newest one, " said

Dembinski, a consultant who manages jobs for Decontamination Services LLC of

Niles, a company that conducts mold cleanups in homes and businesses.

Of the thousands of types of mold in nature, the one that goes by the name

of Stachybotrys chartarum is the focus of much of the recent media

attention.

Though many forms of mold can cause allergic reactions in susceptible

people, Stachybotrys chartarum produces a mycotoxin that may be linked to

severe lung disorders in children and life-threatening asthmatic attacks in

many others.

Stachybotrys chartarum is rare, fortunately.

These days, people are not taking chances.

" You have to treat it just like asbestos, " he said. " You have to suit up

just like you do in removing asbestos. "

, a member of the Environmental Health Services division of

the Elkhart County Health Department, cautioned that people should not

overreact at the sight of mold.

" Mold has been around since the days of the dinosaurs, " said.

But if mold is present and somebody in the family or workplace complains of

having headaches or upper respiratory problems, " then that is another

matter, " she said.

" We are not physicians, so we tell them to see a family doctor, " said

, who has just finished her master's thesis on the subject.

Mold in all forms is nothing to dismiss. " So we recommend cleaning it up,

whether it is Stachybotrys or anything else, " she said.

herself encountered mold when she recently bought a 52-year-old

house.

Using a mild detergent mixed with bleach will remove and kill the mold, she

said.

But many people anxious of what they have heard about mold, especially

Stachybotrys, are looking for it when they buy or build a house. Some are

pressing their cases in court and winning multimillion-dollar lawsuits

against builders and insurance companies.

Ed McMahon, ny Carson's sidekick, had it in his home. So did

environmental activist Brockovich, who was the subject of a movie.

Not just anyone can spot dangerous molds.

" You need a certified microbiologist to identify the mold, " said .

Pat formed ACM Environmental Inc. in South Bend in 1988 and has seen

the number of requests for mold inspections soar.

" During the last four or five years, our business has really shot up, " he

said.

said sensationalizing in TV news magazine shows has partly

contributed to the craze.

" There has also been some marquee lawsuits where people are winning big

fortunes (involving) millions of dollars in settlements, " he said.

Mold problems from just humidity are not nearly as bad in the Midwest as

they are in Florida, Texas or other states near the Gulf of Mexico.

One Elkhart County couple, Ralph s and Loretta Gaiera, say that a mold

problem caused a series of family catastrophes starting in early 2000 that

eventually cost them their home, located near the Elkhart Municipal Airport.

It began simply, when a water pipe beneath the house burst.

s removed a section of mold-contaminated dry wall in a bedroom of one of

their children.

When he pulled out the section of wall, he released the mold spores along

with mites feeding on the mold.

Later that year, they and their children moved out of the house when, they

claim, the children started experiencing severe allergic-type reactions.

The home was later broken into by runaways, who set it afire.

" It's a nightmare to say the least, " s said.

Thad Godish, a professor at Ball State University and an air quality

scientist, said mold in a house " is actually quite common. "

Laboratory testing is essential, but Stachybotrys has some unusual

characteristics that can help in its identification.

Stachybotrys has an affinity to processed cellulose that has been wet for

long periods of time, he said.

" It loves the paper facing on gypsum board, " Godish said. " It loves the

paper facing on Fiberglas insulation. "

It won't grow on solid wood, however, he added.

Godish, who has been involved in indoor air quality issues since 1980, has

testified in cases involving formaldehyde, radon and sick-building syndrome.

" Mold is in its prime right now. Mold is the flavor of the month, " he said.

It was " sent it into orbit " by the TV show " 48 Hours. "

Godish said a fierce battle took place within the Centers for Disease

Control in the 1990s following famous cases in Cleveland and Chicago, where

mold was linked to childhood deaths.

Pulmonary hemosiderosis, or bleeding of the lungs, was reported to have

caused the deaths of six Cleveland children who came to a hospital with

nosebleeds.

The CDC scientists who conducted a study produced data they thought was the

smoking gun that pointed toward Stachybotrys.

" But CDC did both external and internal review of that data and basically

concluded that the data was not strong enough to support a causal

relationship between exposure to Stachybotrys and hemosiderosis, " Godish

said. " A political battle was waged at different levels. The higher-ups, of

course, won. The people who did the studies left the CDC. "

Godish believes the CDC was right that a causal link may not have been

established but faults the CDC for not probing deeper. Stachybotrys needs to

be treated with caution, Godish said. " You don't treat it like any other

mold, " he said.

" If you have water damage in your wall, you don't want an average contractor

coming into your home and start ripping things out. He can contaminate your

whole house. "

Staff writer Wayne Falda:

wfalda@...

(574) 235-6326

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