Ecowellness: Mold a mushrooming problem

[Guest guest]

By CHRISTINE DELL'AMORE

UPI Consumer Health Correspondent

United Press International

http://www.upi.com/ConsumerHealthDaily/view.php?StoryID=20060829-

031939-8989r

WASHINGTON, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- As people displaced by Hurricane

Katrina begin to trickle back to their old homes, many are

developing vague upper respiratory symptoms -- tightness of the

chest and coughing -- that some have coined " Katrina cough. "

The exact cause is still unknown, but doctors and environmental

health specialists believe the vast amounts of dust and mold

infiltrating the hurricane-affected areas are to blame. Buildings

still damp from high floodwaters have quickly become hotbeds for

bacteria and mold.

Although a cataclysmic event such as Katrina is rare, indoor mold in

the average American home is becoming more common and arguably more

harmful, worsening asthma and leading to serious health problems,

experts tell EcoWellness.

" (Katrina) is definitely an extreme example of what we're finding

everywhere else, " said Ron Gallo, a certified indoor air quality

manager and a director at RTK Environmental Group, an environmental

testing service in Connecticut and New York. " Mold is turning up in

anyone's potential home. "

Molds are vibrantly colored fungi that grow on virtually any organic

surface -- including wood, paper and foods. They thrive in moisture-

ridden areas such as basement walls, sinks and bathroom tiles,

slowly digesting and destroying whatever they grow on. Outdoors,

molds break down leaves and plant debris; without them, the world

would be awash in decomposing matter.

Although many people conjure up images of old, drafty homes as

perfect habitats for mold, it's actually the newer homes -- ones

constructed quickly with mold-friendly materials such as sheetrock --

that are the most prolific breeding grounds. Poor caulking under

the windows, inadequate runoff areas around the house, leaky pipes

and other such slip-ups can all create mold.

Older homes breathed better than today's tightly sealed houses,

making mold contamination a more recent phenomenon, Gallo said.

The fungi are also equally prevalent in low-income neighborhoods,

where home maintenance can be costly.

" It's going across socioeconomic lines, " said Dr.

Bernstein, a professor of clinical medicine at the University of

Cincinnati and a researcher on indoor pollutants.

So far, management of mold has been polarized by those who overreact

to its health effects and those who discount it as a non-issue.

" There's a lot of misperceptions about mold, " said Dr. Soloman,

a senior scientist at the National Resources Defense Council, an

environmental advocacy group.

" Many people don't take mold seriously enough ... and some people

freak out about it more than they need to. The appropriate reaction

is to get rid of it, " said Soloman, a mold expert and physician who

traveled to New Orleans in 2005 to assess the environmental

conditions of Katrina-ravaged homes.

Most scientists agree mold in its various forms can cause headaches,

breathing difficulties and skin irritation in people. The

respiratory ailments associated with molds, specifically the

allergic reactions and asthma attacks, are the most well-documented.

Molds work by either irritating the body or evoking an immune-system

response. Mold spores, which are invisible to the human eye, are

allergens that can interact with the immune system. A serious

illness, hypersensitivity pnuemonitis, can be triggered by long-term

exposure to organic dusts, molds and bacteria. A person with the

condition will have chronic relapses and recovery of lung

inflammation and pneumonia-type symptoms.

Molds also produce irritating airborne chemicals called microbial

volatile organic compounds (mVOCs) that are similar in impact to

petroleum byproducts in household cleaning products. They can lead

to headaches, dizziness, fatigue and nausea.

Another example of mold irritation is organic dust toxin syndrome, a

mild, short-lived condition with symptoms similar to the flu --

cough, fever, chills and muscle pains.

When molds try to out compete other molds, they may also create

mycotoxins, which include the greenish-black stachybotrys mold

of " killer mold " fame.

After a spate of infant deaths from pulmonary hemorrhage -- or

bleeding lungs -- in Cleveland in the mid-1990s, speculation swirled

around the possibility of a connection between bleeding lungs and

stachybotrys, or " killer mold. "

However, the link is still unproven, and " the media has blown things

out of proportion, at least relative to what we have in hard medical

evidence, " said Joe Ponessa, an extension specialist and professor

in housing indoor environments and health at Rutgers ative

Extension in New Brunswick, N.J.

Ponessa said that although stachybotrys is a potent toxin, mold

doesn't make it that often.

" You would need millions of spores to cause significant toxic

effects, " added Bernstein, who is also doubtful of the " killer mold "

assertions.

Since mold is everywhere on Earth -- it has even been found on an

aircraft at 30,000 feet -- " none of us spend time in a mold-free

environment, " Ponessa said. People have evolved with the organism,

and so the human body's response to mold varies dramatically.

Asthmatics, for example, might experience a terrible attack from

spending time in a mold-infested house, whereas another person might

have no reaction.

The potency of mold exposure might also depend on a person's immune

system -- for instance, people with HIV, advanced stage cancer, or

the very old and young will be more susceptible to health problems.

In general, the more exposure to mold a person has, the more

susceptible he becomes. People who work in a moldy building for

years will often develop allergic reactions, Ponessa said.

There's no good data on how many people in the United States have

mold-related health conditions, Bernstein said. Many of the symptoms

people report are poorly defined and non-specific, and could also be

explained by colds and allergies.

But if health problems begin when someone enters a building and go

away when that person leaves, it's fairly obvious an indoor

pollutant is the reason, Ponessa added.

Luckily, most of the health effects of mold can be reversed by

removing the fungi from the home. Bernstein recommends getting homes

tested by an environmental expert, especially if a resident sees or

smells mold.

Gallo's business has received more calls for indoor pollutant

testing, including mold, in recent years. Gallo recommends a course

of action for the owner after examining the house, which could mean

cutting out certain parts of insulation or drywall.

When homeowners want to preserve walls by washing them of mold

instead, Gallo warns them it's like " trying to wash a box of

tissue " -- in a word, impossible.

In New Orleans, residents may need to strip their mold-covered homes

down to the studs, said Soloman, who found the highest mold levels

she had ever seen reported in the flood-damaged areas.

Soloman recalled walking down the middle of the street in New

Orleans, a month after Katrina struck, and being overpowered by the

smell of mold. Inside the homes, she saw fungi that grew in thick,

multi-colored, hairy mats on the walls.

Even with a respirator, Soloman had a perpetually runny nose. She

talked to residents who complained of congestion, aching sinuses,

coughing and a persistent, annoying tickle at the back of their

throats.

Even so, some scientists insist the health effects of indoor

pollution and mold are being blown out of proportion, Bernstein

said.

" I challenge people who don't believe this problem exists to live in

a home with a significant mold and mildew, " he said, " and see how

long they survive. "