Toxic Mold in Your Home: Is Your Family's Health at Risk?

Mold is a naturally occurring and essential component of the environment. Their function is to break down dead organic matter into material that can be readily recycled into the soil and into the food chain. Outdoors in its natural environment, molds pose no health threat to humans. On the other hand, when mold is allowed to grow and populate indoors when it can release millions of spores, its impact on the health of the building's occupants can be mild to fatal. Epidemiologist and mycologists have estimated that there are some 100 to 300 different species of mold that are potentially hazardous to health if inhaled, ingested or in some cases...touched.

Why a problem now?

Mold, like all plant life, requires water and food to grow and thrive. In today's more tightly constructed homes that trap moisture indoors, mold can find these indoor water sources and take up residence. In addition, advances in medical science have made it possible to trace more and more illnesses back to the mold pathogens and allergens that cause them. As early as 1976, the medical community was aware of the serious health risk associated with toxic mold when 221 people died from exposure to the bacteria later dubbed "Legionella pneumophila." More recently, several highly publicized, mold-related court cases have had real estate professionals and builders diving for cover. This heightened public awareness has also created a feeding frenzy in the legal profession and chronic headaches for the medical community.

Are you at risk from toxic mold?

Most individuals with a healthy immune system can tolerate most airborne mold spores without any adverse health effects. However, when millions of mold spores invade the body, they can, over a period of time, weaken the immune system and result in an allergic reaction. The first step in reducing your risk of exposure to toxic mold is to conduct a complete visual assessment of your home for visible and hidden mold. You can do this yourself, if you know what to look for, or you can have an indoor air quality professional check your home for mold. If mold is located, the moisture or water source should be corrected and the mold threat remediated. Most visible mold covering an area less than 10 sq. ft. can be safely removed following EPA's protocol outlined in Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings.

What are the potential health risks associated with exposure to mold?

Unfortunately, this is a highly debated topic among health care professionals and the scientific community. Efforts are currently underway by the medical and scientific communities to identify direct links between specific mold pathogens and the potential threat to public health and safety. Molds, however, do have the potential to cause health problems. Inhaling or touching mold or mold spores may cause allergic reactions in sensitive individuals. The allergens produced by mold can trigger a number of allergic responses including, sneezing, chronic cough, runny nose, nasal congestion, itchy, watery and red eyes, skin rashes and hives, sinus headaches, reduced lung capacity and difficulty in breathing. These symptoms can occur immediately or be delayed over a period of time. Individuals with asthma or a compromised immune system may be especially susceptible to mold and mold spores. Additionally, mold exposure can irritate the eyes, skin, nose, throat, and lungs of both mold-allergic and non-allergic people.

What about the "killer mold" stachybotrys atra?

Prior to 1999 there was little concern over this so called "killer mold" stachybotrys atra. Then in that year, Melinda Ballard and her husband, Ron Allison, went public with their tragic story of how their 11,500 sf. home in Texas was overrun by black mold caused by water damage. The house was declared a biohazard and the family had to evacuate their home. The family later sued Farmers Insurance Company for mishandling the repair work on the leaks, winning a landmark $32-million court verdict. Though the family was awarded $32-million, the family is filing an appeal, as their original $100-million suit sought compensation for health problems suffered by Ballard's husband and son resulting from breathing the toxic mold.

One of the reasons why this case is being so closely monitored is to see if the Ballards will win their appeal, proving that the health problems suffered by the husband and son were the direct result of breathing the toxic mold. To do this, their attorney will have to show convincing medical and scientific evidence proving a direct link between stachybotrys atra and neurological damage (memory loss) and pulmonary hemorrhage. Judge John Dietz ruled that medical testimony on health effects of mold could not be offered as evidence because the level of scientific proof required by a Texas Supreme Court mandate does not yet exist.

The United States Toxic Mold Safety and Protection Act

On March 13, 2003, Michigan congressman John Conyers, Jr., introduced bill H.R. 1286 known as the United States Toxic Mold Safety and Protection Act. This bill will mandate comprehensive research into mold growth, create programs to educate the public about the dangers of toxic mold, and provide assistance to victims. In addition, the Act will: 1) Generate guidelines for preventing indoor mold growth; 2) Establish standards for removing mold when it does grow; 3) Provide grants for mold removal in public buildings; 4) Authorize tax credits for inspection and/or remediation of mold hazards; 5) Create a national insurance program to protect homeowners from catastrophic losses.

Taken as a whole, the Toxic Mold Safety and Protection Act will attack indoor mold growth with good science, public awareness, and tangible relief. If passed, this bill will have a substantial impact on new home construction, mold remediation standards and reimbursement for mold-related losses. This bill is a major step forward in addressing the issue of indoor air quality.