Clean & Dry

   Mold And Health      

There seems to be a great deal of evidence that high levels of molds, its spores and the toxins they produce do indeed affect people’s health. Several other local  remediators as well as myself, have exhibited mild respiratory symptoms including sore throat and cough after briefly examining well ventilated contaminated areas without respiratory protection on.

Technically molds aren’t “toxic,” they are toxigenic, which means that under certain circumstances, they produce toxins. A lot has to do with the sensitivity on the part of the person exposed as well.  Children under two years of age, pregnant women, adults over 60, asthmatics and others with respiratory problems can be much more sensitive and easily harmed by overexposure to mold. 

The terms “black” and “toxic” mold are overused and often misunderstood by the public. One toxic black mold, Stachybotrys chartarum, formerly known as Stachybotrys atra, is at the root of many mold lawsuits.

Stachybotrys is a greenish-black mold that thrives on water and construction materials, such as wallboard, gypsum board, and cellulose ceiling panels. 

Scientists became aware of the dangers of ingesting black mold more than 60 years ago after livestock ate large amounts of contaminated feed and suffered from internal bleeding as a result, according to a report from Harvard Public Health Now. 

It is also a deadly neurotoxin that has been linked by medical researchers to a host of illnesses including bleeding lungs, chronic fatigue syndrome, asthma, chronic respiratory ailments. It also produces toxins that cause severe memory loss, disorientation and behavioral changes.

Mold & medical symptoms
A wide variety of symptoms have been attributed to the toxic effects of different molds. The medical problems may be caused by toxic gases produced by the molds or by reactions to the mold particles themselves. Many allergies are also attributable to mold and fungi.

Commonly reported symptoms include runny noses, eye irritation, congestion, aggravation of asthma, headaches, dizziness and fatigue. More severe symptoms may include reports of profusely bloody runny noses, the coughing up of blood, severe headaches, fibrous growth in the lungs and - at least in one reported instance - cognitive dysfunction and loss of memory.

In the previously described water damage and mold claim in Texas, a mold expert in the case underestimated the danger involved. The expert found himself throwing up for hours after spending just 30 minutes in the house. He has a severe hearing loss in one ear from his exposure to the mold.

In 1993 and 1994, a doctor from the Cleveland area attributed 37 cases of pulmonary hemorrhage and hemosiderosis in young infants to Stachybotrys. Twelve of the infants died. A recent CDC report questions the scientific validity of the doctor's conclusions and the causal linkage of the infant deaths to the toxic effects of Stachybotrys. However, the CDC does recognize that moldy homes are unhealthy for human occupancy. Other reports claim to confirm the linkage of Stachybotrys to instances of infant deaths in other locations.

Some of the most extreme cases of mold-related health problems, the so-called "yellow rain" attacks in Southeast Asia during the late 1970s, and the Iraqi attacks on some Kurd villages in the 1980s and 1990s have been attributed to use of mycotoxins produced by molds.

The conclusion to be reached from all of these dramatic cases is that molds are potentially dangerous and cannot be ignored. All molds should be removed. If the mold is attributable to a covered loss, it is the responsibility of the adjuster to include removal of the mold as part of the loss.

But,  the term “black” mold is misleading because there are hundreds of species of molds which appear black, but not all are a problem. 

 

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF HEALTH CLAIMS

In February 2000, a Texas grand jury found reason to continue a criminal investigation of child endangerment charges against an insurance company for its handling of a water damage claim. This investigation was prompted by a criminal complaint filed by the policyholder and follows the filing of a $100 million lawsuit in 1999 against the same insurance company for its handling of the claim. The policyholders say that the insurance company did not act properly or in a timely manner following the water damage claim. The allegation is that the house is now uninhabitable. The family claims that, following the water damage, and while they were still living in the house during repairs, they were coughing up blood. The husband, the family claims, is now suffering from a cognitive dysfunction, among other injuries. The problem? Mold. Stachybotrys chartarum to be specific. The mold developed following a water damage loss in 1998. The policyholders allege that neither the insurance company nor the company's expert informed the family that the home contained the deadly mold until their health was irreversibly damaged. Is the Texas case merely an extreme example? Or is it a harbinger of things to come? Many lawsuits have been filed and are being filed around the country involving the improper handling of covered water damage losses that have resulted in mold growth so extensive and severe as to present potentially serious - and in too many cases, actual - health hazards, not only to the occupants of the building involved but possibly to anyone who unwittingly enters the structure. Furthermore, mold growth can cause damage to building materials, such as paper and wood products. Mold contamination and growth may also pose a disclosure issue during a real estate transaction. The consensus of opinion from the EPA, FEMA, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), mycologists and microbiologists is that mold may start to grow and spread within 24 to 48 hours in structures damaged by water. Mold can grow exponentially, given the right conditions of temperature, moisture and food sources, such as sheetrock. Know your enemy Fungi are a group of organisms with nuclei and rigid cell walls, but without chlorophyll. They may be unicellular or in multicellular filaments. The filaments are called hyphae. A fungus may produce a system of branching filaments, called the mycelium. The filamentous fungi are sometimes called molds. Unicellular fungi are often called yeasts. Some fungi may produce both yeast and mycelial mold phases. Mildew, in layperson's terms, describes the staining, and likely the degradation of the materials, caused by fungi or molds. Mildew is also used by plant pathologists to identify plant diseases, such as "powdery mildew," caused by fungi. Mold, mildew and fungi are hardly new problems. In the book of Leviticus, chapters 13 and 14, there is reference to a plague, also called mildew in some translations. The description seems to fit that of a toxic mold. In Leviticus, the solution was to try cleaning: "Watch the plague and if the plague spreads, the unclean item or property must be removed and destroyed." Stachybotrys chartarum was first identified and described by a scientist from wallpaper collected in a home in Prague in 1837. The toxic effects of Stachybotrys have been reported as early as the 1920s. A 1986 report, by W.A. Croft, said that Stachybotrys could be commonly found in homes with water damage, could grow undetected behind walls and could grow profusely on sheetrock.I A professional restoration consultant should be contacted when more than a small area of mold contamination is involved. Even a mid-sized isolated area - say, 10 to 30 square feet - requires special handling. Areas of 30 to 100 square feet require professionals, preferably certified in mold remediation and trained in handling hazardous materials. Areas of more than 100 square feet require special containment procedures and negative pressurization. Such areas may require asbestos-like remediation procedures; the removed material must be treated as hazardous waste. During and after removal or remediation of the mold, it may be necessary to conduct sampling to determine if remediation has been successful. The future of mold claims Insurance companies have tried to distance themselves from mold coverage and the heavy losses it has caused for them. One of the reasons may be the high cost of mold remediation, which should be done only by trained and experienced professionals. Some studies have shown that proper remediation and removal of contaminated building materials is about 10 times as expensive as regular tear-out and replacement. In some cases the remediation cost is more than $150 per square foot. Insurance companies and adjusters should, however, be taking note of the dangers of mold contamination . The insurance industry is being faced with numerous losses and lawsuits, some of them far more expensive than any remediation cost. In the last seven years in California, there have been a number of lawsuits involving mold following water damage. Many have settlement figures of more than $500,000. In one suit, the policyholder recovered more than $2.5 million. In another, the policyholder recovered over $9 million. The case in Texas was filed demanding $100 million. Hardly a figure to sneeze at. The examples cited above do not even touch on the liability, construction defect and "sick building syndrome" cases. In 1992, for example, a courthouse in Florida developed mold problems due to construction defects. A jury recently awarded more than $40 million in personal injury claims. There were over 200 workers' compensation claims and at least 180 separate lawsuits. In New York City, more than 300 tenants in an apartment complex with mold problems have filed a class action lawsuit in excess of $10 billion. Previously, such lofty figures were seen only in asbestos or drug-related class actions. Now, we are starting to hear 11-digit figures mentioned in litigation concerning the lowly mold fungi. While mold does not develop in every water damage loss, the adjuster must be aware of the potential for mold and its inherent costs. The adjuster must look for mold when the circumstances warrant and must call in appropriately qualified experts for guidance as needed. Mold remediation may be expensive, but failure to remediate a covered damage may be even more expensive, in terms of health as well as dollars.

 

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