Same old mold

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http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/

Posted on Mon, Jul. 22, 2002

Same old mold

BY MARIKO THOMPSON

Los Angeles Daily News

It started with allergic symptoms that didn't go away.

The woman's symptoms included skin irritations, sinus infections and chronic

fatigue, she said. " I went to all sorts of doctors. I knew it was the house,

but I couldn't figure out why. "

It turned out to be an old problem with a trendy new name: toxic mold.

Toxic mold is not some mutant superstrain wreaking havoc on homes, offices

and schools. It's the same old mold that's always been around.

" The term 'toxic mold' is kind of a misnomer, " said McNeel, mold

expert and research scientist at the California Department of Health

Services' environmental health investigations branch. " There are over 400

molds that are capable of producing toxins. This is not a new contaminant

inside our homes. "

Mold, found indoors and outdoors, releases spores that, when inhaled, can

cause common allergic reactions, including skin rashes, respiratory

problems, nasal and sinus congestion and dry cough. When competing against

other bacteria and microorganisms, certain molds also can produce toxins

called mycotoxins. Severe symptoms, including memory loss and pulmonary

hemorrhage, have been associated with mold toxins.

The extent to which mold toxins are responsible for these more serious ill

effects has stirred debate, as has the question of how much mold exposure is

too much.

The California Department of Health Services says moldy buildings pose a

public health threat, whether the culprit is mold allergens or toxins. The

young, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems are particularly

susceptible to ill effects.

But unlike chemical exposure where dose levels can be correlated to

symptoms, mold doesn't affect everyone at the same levels in the same way.

Also, just because a mold is capable of emitting toxins doesn't mean that it

always does.

Though research on animal subjects has examined health effects through

ingestion, how mold toxins affect the human body when inhaled is a

relatively new question, state researcher McNeel said.

Dr. Ordog, who runs a mold specialty clinic called Medical Toxicology

in Santa Clarita, Calif., treats 5,000 patients from around the world for

severe cases of mold exposure. Ordog says enough is known from research in

military and agricultural settings to show that mold toxins cause serious

health effects.

" There's no doubt that mold is toxic, " Ordog said. " There usually are

multiple signs or symptoms. When you put them all together, it's a poisoning

of the whole body. "

Rather than the plain shower-curtain type mold, Ordog is talking about mold

caused by water damage, in particular a greenish-black strain called

stachybotrys chartarum.

" Stachy is the Mr. Hollywood of mold, " said Glenn Sigmon, owner of the mold

remediation firm Aqua Restoration in Van Nuys, Calif. Stachybotrys, along

with penicillium and aspergillus, are the molds most often cited for

wreaking havoc on home and health.

One reason indoor mold has become such a nagging problem has to do with

building construction since the 1970s. Though buildings have been made more

energy-efficient, they're so airtight that moisture gets trapped, creating

the perfect environment for mold, Sigmon said.

" Buildings need to breathe, " Sigmon said. " Air movement is the best

anti-microbial. "

Dr. Ashok Jain, associate professor of emergency medicine and environmental

toxicology at the University of Southern California, would like to see

doctors better trained to recognize environmental impacts on health.

Too often, doctors match symptoms to treatments without considering the

underlying cause, said Jain, who specializes in sick building syndrome. As a

result, patients continue to suffer from chronic symptoms that could stem

from their homes or the workplace.

" You're told everything looks normal, and you just have to learn to live

with it, " Jain said. " In the medical curriculum, there's not much stress on

environmental factors. We need more education for doctors. Any time people

in a house are sick and it doesn't go away, that's a clue something is wrong

environmentally. "