Shipyard worker seeks mold cleanup (Dover, NH)

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Friday, July 26, 2002

Shipyard worker seeks mold cleanup

By JENNIFER L. SAUNDERS

Democrat Staff Writer

KITTERY, Maine - A longtime Portsmouth Naval Shipyard employee who suffers

from acute respiratory problems believes mold growing in the basement of her

workplace is responsible for her illness. Janet s is asking why the

government is taking so long to clean up the various types of mold growing

in the basement of the shipyard's main administrative building, Building 86.

The mold problem in Building 86's basement was identified in a report by an

independent consultant last September. The report recommended prompt removal

of the mold and remediation of the areas affected. According to shipyard

officials, the contract for the remediation will be awarded in August.

The shipyard did not state when remediation work would begin.

" I began to have hives, breathing problems and could start to smell the

mold. In the last nine months, I have become severely allergic to mold. I

wear a 3M mask all the time; as I go outside the mold from the ground

overwhelms me into asthma attacks. I cannot sit next to plants or it is like

having instant pneumonia. I had to buy a new car. I have been on and off

Prednisone and am on daily inhalers. I live mainly in one room a lot at a

friend's with a HEPA filter air cleaner, " s said.

Shipyard Public Affairs Officer Debbie White said the priority of the

remediation " was accelerated when an employee raised a medical concern

regarding acute sensitivity to mold. The employee was relocated to another

building. "

The air quality report, which stems from an investigation performed by the

Westbrook firm Northeast Test Consultants in 2001 at the request of the

shipyard, cites several types of mold being present in the basement of

Building 86.

The types of mold identified " have been documented as agents of respiratory

related illness, " according to the report. Those identified included

Aspergillus versicolor, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus ochraceus and

Stachybotrys chartarum, also known referred to as S.C.

According to the report, the presence of fungi such as S.C. " should be

considered unacceptable. "

" I am appalled that the condition of this basement was realized a year ago

and nothing was done. I am a single mother who has to go to work and get

sick and keep using leave without pay for all my doctor's appointments, "

s said.

s said she got the Sept. 2001 report about a month ago through a

request to her representative.

" It listed all the molds I am allergic to, as well as stating that there

were active biological species of the very toxic mold Stachybotrys chartarum

..... It also stated anyone near the affected area should be told if needed

for seeking medical help. Nothing was done, " she said.

White said the mold in the basement of Building 86 is in an area primarily

used for storage.

s said for the past three years her workspace has been on the first

floor of Building 86. She described holes in the floor for wiring as well as

an open entrance and freight elevator between her office and the basement

level.

When Northeast Test Consultants performed its study in 2001, White said,

" mold growth was found in the basement within moisture-damaged building

materials. No physical evidence of mold growth was found on the first

floor, " she noted.

Because mold is associated with the presence of moisture, White said the

shipyard is focusing on the source of the moisture and the elimination of

the mold.

" This will be addressed in two phases of the project. The first phase will

be the cleaning and remediation of the mold; this contract will be awarded

in August 2002. The second phase will address the moisture, " White noted.

Until the remediation is complete, White said that as a precautionary

measure, access to the basement of the building is being limited and those

work areas that are affected are being relocated.

" Additional testing in the basement was initiated in the May 2002 time

frame. A major remediation project has been prepared to accomplish removal

of mold sources within the basement, " White said.

Although there is not a set of regulations, rules or even industry

guidelines that clearly define mold remediation procedures, the

Environmental Protection Agency and the New York City Department of Health

have both posted information on mold remediation in commercial buildings.

The Center for Disease Control also advises that when " Stachybotrys

chartarum (Stachybotrys atra) or other molds are found in a building,

prudent practice recommends that they be removed. Use the simplest and most

expedient method that properly and safely removes mold. "

" We will be following published guidelines to address the problem, " White

said.

In the meantime, the shipyard's policy to address an employee's health

concerns as related to the work environment is to deal with medical

restrictions and make accommodations such as relocation to a different

workplace.

" An employee would first identify a work place concern to their supervisor.

The supervisor would request a medical evaluation and a workplace assessment

by our Safety and Health Office, " White explained.

According to s, however, her allergies to mold are now so acute that

even the new location is not enough to protect her.

" I left work last week in an ambulance, as the building they moved me to had

been closed up over the holiday and the mold from water leaks in the ceiling

didn't have a chance to air out and I had a bad asthma attack, " she said.

Worker's compensation and

the question of causes

s is finding little relief in the federal workman's compensation act,

which requires more proof than the medical community provides linking her

illness to mold.

s, a 38-year-old single mother from York, decided to bring her story

to the press after receiving notification from the U.S. Department of Labor'

s Employment Standards Administration of limited worker's compensation

benefits.

Unfortunately for s and other sufferers of severe allergies

exacerbated by mold, there are presently no federal guidelines as to how

much mold is too much mold. There is also a lack of conclusive evidence as

to which health concerns are directly caused by mold exposure.

Meanwhile, the Department of Labor places upon employees " the burden of

establishing by the weight of reliable, probative, and substantial medical

evidence, a firm diagnosis of his or her condition and that the condition is

causally related to factors of the federal employment, " as stated in a

letter to s from Claims Examiner Jerry D. .

s said there is no doubt in her mind that her exposure to the mold in

the basement of Building 86 has caused her current condition. She noted she

had to return to work in Building 86 when she ran out of paid leave.

" Is the government hiding? Are they denying my claim because they do not

want to be responsible? Do I keep going to work and leave in an ambulance? I

want people to be aware that this does happen. ... I never had asthma in my

life before so this is not a preexisting condition. " she said.

In the letter notifying s her benefits would be limited to medical

expenses, wrote that medical evidence indicates many of her ailments

were not caused by her employment.

" The mere fact that a condition manifests itself or is worsened during a

period of employment does not raise an inference of causal relationship

between the two, " wrote.

The Center for Disease Control and other federal and state agencies advise

all mold to be removed, but do not present definitive information on

potential health risk. According to information released by the New York

City Department of Health, mold found in buildings usually does not cause

illness among healthy individuals.

" However, too much exposure to mold may cause or worsen conditions such as

asthma, hay fever, or other allergies. The most common symptoms of

overexposure are cough, congestion, runny nose, eye irritation and the

aggravation of asthma, " the report states.

In a letter detailing s' specific symptoms, Dr. C.

of Rochester, N.H., described seeing her for the first time on Sept. 27,

2001, for a variety of sinus symptoms. He noted s had a history of

allergies for 15 years.

" I have worked at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for 15 years. For eight of

those years I worked in a flooding, moldy basement. I left then because of

allergy problems but never went any further with testing as I got better, "

s explained.

In the months since that first visit, the letter states, s' asthma

symptoms worsened and she was given a regimen including a face mask to help

filter mold spores and steroids to improve her breathing.

" On 5/23/02, the patient was tested for several molds and fungals to indeed

see if this was most of the problem, " the physician wrote in his letter. She

was subsequently told to avoid specific molds and fungal spores, including

Aspergillus - one of the types cited in the consultants' review of Building

86.

As s put it, " he felt this long term exposure to mold is what may have

put me in this highly sensitive allergic state. ... The government wants him

to say [it is] 100 percent caused but no doctor can do that. "

According to the Center for Disease Control, " Stachybotrys chartarum

(Stachybotrys atra) and other molds may cause health symptoms that are

nonspecific. At present there is no test that proves an association between

Stachybotrys chartarum (Stachybotrys atra) and particular health symptoms.

Individuals with persistent symptoms should see their physician. "

In the past weeks, s has written letters to many state and federal

legislators seeking assistance with her worker's compensation claim.

" I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. I just want something to be done

about this, " s said. " This has left me no life, relationships, or time

with my daughter as I am sick a lot. She misses her 'old mom.' ... I cannot

even sit outside on a good day without my mask on. Mold can make people

sick. "

On the Web:

Environmental Protection Agency - www.epa.gov

Centers for Disease Control - www.cdc.gov

Department of Labor - www.dol.gov

Democrat Staff Writer Saunders can be reached at 1-207-363-4413 or

jsaunders@...