Posted on 11/29/2002 1:20:38 PM PST by Jean S
— Believe it or not, families around the country are fleeing their homes — or having them destroyed — because of an insidious intruder they say is making them sick.
The invader? Black mold. Its technical name is Stachybotrys chartarum — stachy for short — and it's got a lot of people panicked.
In Oregon, the O'Hara family asked their local fire department to burn their $450,000 home to the ground after black mold was found inside. "It's basically just a house that poisoned my family," Mark O'Hara said.
In Hawaii, a $95 million Hilton Hotel tower has been closed since July because black mold was found in some of the rooms.
In a July 2001 story Time magazine said toxic mold is spreading "like some sort of biblical plague." The New York Daily News called it "killer mold."
Whatever you call it, across the country, black mold is causing people to abandon buildings, close schools and leave beautiful homes sitting vacant.
In Seabrook, Texas, the Hammond family lived in tents in their backyard for almost nine months, waiting for their insurance company to settle their claim and clean up black mold they say they discovered in their home.
Beverly and Mike Hammond say a bathroom leak caused the black mold to grow. The Hammonds lived for months with a "potty tent" that served as an outhouse. "As soon as I saw the mold, then we, you know, hightailed it for the tent," Beverly Hammond said.
They say the mold made them sick, causing fatigue and joint pain, and will only go in their house with a respirator.
Texas Dream House Turned 'Toxic Tara'
Melinda Ballard's mansion near Austin, Texas is considered by many to be the "ground zero" of the current mold hysteria. Like Diane Fortner, Ballard once thought of her estate as a dream home. Ballard now refers to it as "Toxic Tara."
Ballard says it all began with a leaky roof and some burst pipes. She claims her insurance company lied to her, delaying her request to have the wet materials in her home replaced. That's when she says the black mold began to grow under the kitchen floorboards and spread to other areas. Finally, she and her family left.
"On April 23rd, 1999, we walked out of that home with nothing more than the clothes on our backs," Ballard said.
Ballard is suing her insurance company because of the black mold. She invited 20/20 to look around her home, but insisted we wear protective suits and respirators.
Ballard's case made news last year when a jury ordered her insurance company to pay her a staggering $32 million for acting in bad faith. The judgment is now being appealed.
In addition to making her house unlivable, Ballard claims, the mold also caused serious health problems.
She said her son, Reese, was gasping to get air into his lungs, coughing up blood and suffering terrible headaches. She said her husband, Ron, had similar symptoms, including what she calls early Alzheimer's.
Ballard said, "I know men forget their anniversaries and they forget things like that, but they don't forget what kind of car they've driven. They don't forget where they live. … He did."
Some scientists say memory loss and internal bleeding could be linked to mold.
"You can see mucosal bleeding, like bleeding from the nose and the ears, you can see hair loss … and there are some individuals that feel that indeed cognitive dysfunction or the inability to think, is also the result of the inhalation of fungal spores," said David Straus, a microbiologist at Texas Tech.
That's certainly frightening, but it's also controversial.
Straus acknowledged that there is no conclusive proof that these serious illnesses are caused by black mold. However, Straus said, "The data are coming."
Straus even claims his one visit to "Toxic Tara" as a consultant resulted in permanent hearing loss.
"I can't prove that the hearing loss occurred because of my exposure to mold in Melinda's house," but Straus added, "that's exactly the day that it began."
Turning Mold into Gold?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there are very few case reports of mold in the home causing internal bleeding or memory loss, and no link has been established. Most scientists say the only proven effects from mold are allergic reactions and possible respiratory problems — including asthma. Some say mold fear is being whipped up by lawyers and mold cleanup companies eager to turn mold into gold.
University of Texas Medical Center immunologist, Dr. Gailen Marshall said some of his patients have been told to leave their homes and that black mold can kill them. But Marshall insists there's no cause for alarm.
"I think it's being blown horrendously out of proportion … All the stories that are out there are based primarily on testimonials and conjecture, not on hard scientific evidence," Marshall said.
The stories of mold panic are so widespread — they're even being spoofed on kids' cartoon shows. The parodies of mold fear ring all too true to Gordon Stewart of the Insurance Information Institute.
"There is no such thing as killer mold," Stewart said. He said mold — including black mold — has been around for centuries, and that people have only become hysterical about mold in the past few years.
Two years ago, there were only 1,000 mold-related insurance claims in Texas. That number soared to 14,000 last year. And now insurers, nationwide, are raising rates or dropping mold coverage altogether.
"There isn't more mold now than there was two years ago. There is more mold fear than there was two years ago, and there may be in some cases, more mold greed," Stewart said.
Marshall said he does believe most of his patients complaining of mold-related illnesses really are sick. "The question is what is the relationship between the presence of mold and their illnesses? … There's really no evidence that the very presence of mold, which is really everywhere in our environment, will by itself create bleeding, will by itself create memory loss or deficit, et cetera," Marshall said.
He believes what may be making some of them sick is not the mold — but the panic that's been created. Marshall insists the greatest danger isn't from the mold but from the panic that's been created.
He said, "There is clear evidence that the chronic anxiety that may result from something like this itself has a negative health consequence."
While there's no evidence toxic mold in the home is deadly — there is increasing debate about how dangerous it might be — and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is funding a study of mold's health effects.
In the meantime — many families aren't taking any chances.
What To Do
If you see mold in your home, everyone agrees you should get rid of it. But experts say in most cases there is no need to have expensive mold remediation done. They advise homeowners to stop the water intrusion and to simply clean up the mold with a little bleach. If it has spread, experts advise homeowners to replace moldy building materials like Sheetrock. It's also important to note that not all black-colored mold is Stachybotrys chartarum.
For more information on what you should do if you think you have mold in your home, visit the following Web sites:
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY: The EPA Web site includes "A Brief Guide to Mold, Moisture, and Your Home," which provides information and guidance for homeowners and renters on how to clean up residential mold problems and how to prevent mold growth. http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/moldresources.html
CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: The CDC Web site has information on air pollution and respiratory health, including this question and answer page on Stachybotrys chartarum. http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/airpollution/mold/stachy.htm.
I think mercury does a number on mold too. Vaguely recall that it was added as a preservative to [latex?] paints until about 15 years ago or so.
On a percentage basis, you're probably right. But keep in mind that there are many more tenants than there are landlords.
Also, consider areas where there's rent controls - in many cases, a landlord cannot make enough money to make real repairs. I think this is sometimes true in older "duplex" homes that are bought up by young landlords (and I'm thinking of a few I knew in my younger years) trying to work their way into business. In most cases, these folks buy old cheap homes in the inner city and do most of the maintenance by themselves, occasionally to their own detriment. Its expensive to hire professionals at times, but it is sometimes necessary.
Ha! Stach the deck, baby! Its Friday Night!!
The use of junk science to cheat homeowners and insurance companies started with the asbestos scare of the 1960's. Even today American cities are filled with needlessly abandoned buildings because of lawyers, unscrupulous contractors, and knee-jerk government reaction causing the evacuation of formerly valuable assets. When the lawyers, contractors and politicians milked the asbestos issue for all it was worth, they turned to the myth of radon gas, then radon gas turned into toxic poisoning, then electromagnetic waves (they're coming back again), and now mold.
But all is not lost. Scientists and medical experts, who may finally be getting the attention they deserve, are alerting the public that most mold, including allergenic mold, is not nearly as dangerous or pervasive as "mold remediation experts" claim.
Gailen Marshall, director of the Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston, said, "Mold is everywhere. For most people, mold is a mostly ignored part of their lives. For some with mold allergies, the smell can cause nasal allergy or even asthma symptoms. Yet what is increasingly clear is that their mold-related illness has nothing to do with toxic substances produced by molds."
Airborne mold spores, much like pollen, dust or animal dander, trigger allergic reactions. But mold toxins, however potentially harmful, never get into the body in high enough levels to cause harm. These mycotoxins, secreted by a dozen or so mold species, are known to be deadly to animals that ingest them in large amounts (typically while feeding on stored hay or grain). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report that very few cases of toxic mold inside homes have been shown to cause serious human health problems, and they usually involve someone who ate very old food laced with toxic mold.
A September 17, 2002 Washington Post news story on mold reported, "Although rampant mold growth in these cases may have caused illnesses, scientists have been unable to show a clear link between some of the more frightening reported symptoms, such as memory loss and internal bleeding, and breathing in mold toxins. Three recent reviews of the medical literature found no support for the claim that toxic mold levels in the home or office can lead to chronic or life-threatening health problems. These independently funded reviews were conducted largely to educate health care professionals and industrial hygienists about mold exposure. A fourth study is now underway by the Institute of Medicine for the CDC."
The article did note, "Mold is by no means always benign. The most recent of the completed reviews, conducted in part by Norman King, an epidemiologist for a Montreal regional public health board, found a strong association between mold and respiratory problems, such as exacerbation of asthma. Scientists cannot rule out the possibility that mold levels cause more serious problems, King said, but no link has yet been demonstrated."
Coreen Robbins, an industrial hygienist with Global Tox Inc., a firm based in Redmond, Wash., says, "Toxins from mold-such as those from an infamous black mold called Stachybotrys, which is often cited in lawsuits as causing grave harm to human health-are not readily airborne, and are therefore not likely to be breathed in. Even if the toxins piggyback on spores, it's nearly impossible for them to enter the human body in large enough quantity to cause illness."
Robbins said that Stachybotrys often grows below floors and behind walls, and we are unlikely to breathe in its toxins because they cling to mold and dust particles. The mere presence of toxic mold, according to Robbins, is no indication that the air contains mycotoxins. "This is a fairly complex topic, so it is ripe for a bit of bamboozlry," Robbins said. Cottage industries have sprung up overnight to test for and clean up toxic mold. She said newly minted "mold consultants" are participating in what "is like a huge hoax." While common sense tells us we should clean up moldy stuff indoors, Robbins said, removing floorboards, walls and ducts upon detection of a few Stachybotrys spores is often unnecessary.
Even if indoor mold in rare cases is harmful, there is the specter of an epidemic of fraud in mold claims. Jerry Johns, president of the Austin-based Southwestern Insurance Information Service, which represents the majority of the state's property-casualty insurers, stated, "Mold remediation fraud is rapidly becoming a nationwide problem."
For example, a Houston federal grand jury earlier this year indicted a local area contractor-Johnny Duane Staples, of Baytown, Texas-as heading a group involving his relatives and associates who perpetrated mold remediation scams that cost insurers over $7 million dollars as a result of 54 false claims.
The indictment states that the group would generally buy a two-story home in a residential neighborhood that they would briefly occupy. On weekends, they would remove most of the good furnishings and replace them with cheaper items. The windows would be covered with sheets and the house would be left to soak for eight-to-10 days, and then a damage report would be made.
The indictment charges that Mr. Staples and his group, acting as contractor remediators, would then generate false invoices to be given to insurers, and pay other persons to generate fake documents that went to insurers. Their activities led to charges of conspiracy, mail fraud and money laundering.
Insurers named as victims included Allstate, Farmers Group, Farmers Mutual Protective Association, General Star Indemnity Company, Heartland Insurance Group, Scottsdale, State Farm, Texas Farm Bureau, Mt. Vernon, Republic, Heartland Lloyds, Horace Mann, Kemper, and Prudential Property and Casualty. The Houston case is currently set for trial, but has been delayed to allow plea negotiations. Johns commented, "In addition to getting paid for the replacement of furniture and appliances, these scammers collected for living expenses, and insurers were charged two or three times what people were actually paying." He added, "With a house worth $100,000, an insurer could end up paying two or three times the cost of a home."
The mold con artists left dozens of homes in a soggy, mold-covered condition after the plotters cracked water pipes and turned on garden hoses to create damage claims. In many mold fraud cases, doors and windows of homes were sealed up to create a warm environment that cooks up mold.
Johns notes that insurance company investigators often find remediators who offer to check homes for mold sometimes intentionally exacerbate existing mold conditions after persuading residents to leave, or plant mold where it never existed. Remediators have their own testers who inspect the work, and frequently the finding is, "Oops, still got mold-have to go to work again."
Price-gouging contractors will charge insurers five times the norm for building materials, and hundreds of dollars for protective bio-hazard "moon suits" made of paper.
Johns says mold remediation fraud frequently involves repairs that are not made at all, or for which inflated rates are listed. Johns said examples of such scams involve charging for water extraction units that either are not used or employed for much less time than is charged for.
The growth in mold cases is being fueled by billboards popping up across the state, which urge homeowners to bring claims.
The problem of lawsuit abuse makes the fraud even more costly. According to Johns, adjusters fearing multi-million dollar lawsuits do everything possible, including settling questionable mold claims, to avoid litigation and the attendant risk of a huge jury verdict.
Earlier this year, Texas Insurance Commissioner Jose Montemayor started an investigation into mold fraud, but discussion of the problem has remained largely absent from the political debate. Moreover, it is Farmers and other insurers that appear to be the first targets of state legal action. Fraudulent mold claim remediators should be prosecuted under existing laws that address fraud and the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. It is time for Texas politicians in both parties to break the mold and utilize existing laws, rather than government rate controls, as the solution for a problem that involves junk science, lawsuit abuse, greed, and fraud. If policy is dictated by political demagoguery instead of sound science, economics, and common sense, Texas' insurance industry, a pillar of our economy, will become the proverbial baby thrown out with the bathwater.
(from Carl Tepper, Austin (Texas) Review)
That seems valid as well. I suspect that when some studies are actually completed, we'll find a wide range of causes for asthma. My brother had asthma as a kid, but kind of "outgrew" it. He would wake up many a night wheezing, but had his trusty inhaler available at all times. Still won "letter" for the track team in High School though.
My asthma was the opposite. I was plagued with allergies every fall, but never had breathing problems until 3 years after I got a cat. That asthma was controlled mostly through HEPA filters and the electrostatic filter on my furnace. There are some cat-owners' homes that I cannot spend more than a couple of hours in.
Really, I think a lot of asthma (but not ALL asthma by any stretch) is an allergic type reaction, but the trigger is different among different folks.
BTW, I have heard a more recent theory that the increase in asthma cases has been a result of increased/better diagnosis. I am a bit suspicious of this theory though. I mean, if people are unable to breath, it is pretty obvious that something is wrong, and it was just as obvious 30 years ago.
The key word is "legitimate." I think most of the mold "panic" is NOT legitimate. Now we have to choose to have mold coverage or not, and I choose not to have it.
I don't pretend to be an authority on mold but one can't help but wonder "WHY?" all of a sudden all these people are having these problems caused by black mold.
Do you think Ms. Ballard was entitled to $32 million?
I think a few greedy people and an equal number of greedy lawyers have messed up homeowner's insurance for the rest of us. I've even heard of real estate agents not selling houses because the potential buyer couldn't get insurance; and the agents were NOT blaming the insurance companies!
You aren't kidding... When I cleaned the carpet in my old house before I sold it, I steamed out a ton of nasty, dirty stuff. I cleaned it twice and even the second pass, a week after the first, was pretty dirty. Yecccchhh!!!
Wouldn't vinyl trap moisture and cause mold in flooring lumber? I have a friend who used ceramic tile flooring throughout his entire house. (Besides the expense, can a case be made for marble flooring and interior marble walls?)
I do think there is evidence supporting we have a problem with mold. We have a number of old county buildings that were vacated because of people getting sick from mold.
I have noticed that many constructions use a composite floor and wall sheeting that is glue and saw dust instead of wood planking (A moisture trap?). The new, cheap building materials really suck.
I live in an area of coastal California (Monterey Bay) that is frequently foggy and damp. I have noticed a great deal of mold/moisture problems in many area homes. Many of the contractors are out for a fast buck. Real estate is very expensive here and to make prices attractive to buyers, they cut corners on material costs...
My ideal house - - stone and concrete walls with large windows of structural plate glass, an expansive, open floor plan, treated open beam wood ceilings under an ashphalt roof, marble floors.
There have been proven illnesses and even at least one fatality directly and officially attributed to mold. This is fact, not urban legend and lore. It would be much easier for everyone but the lawyers if this wasn't the case.
I didn't see anything in your citation that definitively ruled out any and all human toxic responses from mold. In fact, the national safety and industrial hygiene organizations would refuse to do that. They know that mold can be hazardous to human health as an indoor air quality issue.
Molds like water. And you forced water into your carpet and pad.
I certainly hope you got it all dry.
Some of these materials are hydrophillic (attract water).
Black mold has a white ring around its outer circle. Mildew, is very often mistakin for black mold. I know the difference...do I tell my customers that it's only mildew?? Not on your life. Infact, I generally add a zero when it's mistakingly diagnosed a black mold situation.
I never got sick. I smoke cigarrettes and drink a pot of coffee a day...so if there ever is a respitory problem, what caused it?
If you do have black mold, rip out the dry wall, saturate the studs with bleach(two coats), put new board up. You'll be just fine.
JMHO
SR
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