Monday Morning Mold Septebmer 13, 2004

September 13, 2004

Dear C,

Hello, there won't be a media review in this issue due to a series of Erma Bombeck-like disasters at my house this weekend. I won't get into details, but my seven year old and four year old would really welcome any helpful hints for getting acrylic paint out of carpet. The carpet is a tight pile weave and is brown. The paint is not. Please send your tips to the author of this newsletter!

However, after my successful comments a few weeks ago about Aspergillus spp. and aflatoxins, I have decided to add an occassional editor's comments section. There is one this week about Legionella and mold. This week's photo is Legionella batcterium, from Legionellaonline.it.And, to those folks in Florida - ay the time this newsletter was written, it looks like your prayers about Ivan worked. I'm happy for you, and I wish you the best cleaning up after Charley and Frances.

An Austin-based construction company that has built schools, jails and other projects in the Rio Grande Valley is no stranger to controversy. Landmark Organization, owned by Faulkner USA, is presently defending itself against a lawsuit filed by Cameron County, whose officials say construction defects at the two-year-old Carrizalez-Rucker Detention Center near Olmito were a factor in prisoner escapes.

But Landmark alleges poor supervision by jail guards and problems within the sheriff's department are to blame instead. Landmark spokesman Eloy Garcia said county maintenance workers left a utility panel in a closet unlocked and that gave prisoners access to the roof, where they escaped.

While the short-term effects of Hurricane Charley have all but vanished from everyday life in south Lee County, a problematic long-term effect of the damage and moisture the storm brought could soon show its ugly face, according to local mold specialists.

Southwest Florida was already an ideal environment for mold to grow in, with its heat and abundant moisture, said Robert Scherer, president of Infrared Consultants, a Naples-based company specializing in mold detection with the use of infrared cameras. He services Lee and Collier counties.

EnvironSafety Group Inc. is offering a free seminar on mold awareness from 9 to 11 a.m. on Sept. 17 at John Tyler Community College in Chester

The seminar will address a number of topics, from where mold is most frequently found to mold's effect on a person's health.

Thanks to Hurricane Frances, many of us have a new understanding of what "heavy rain" and "storm surge" mean. If you were canoeing through Shore Acres in St. Petersburg or through South Tampa last Monday, you're familiar with another term: "flooding."

As soon as you're allowed back in the house and it's safe to turn the electricity on, "Turn the air conditioning on," said Michael Smith, customer service manager for Servpro, a restoration franchise with three branches in Pinellas County. That will start the movement of cool, dry air throughout the house to begin the drying-out.

An appeal seeking to have 13 Washington Township students moved from two middle schools that underwent extensive mold remediation this summer was denied yesterday by Appellate Division Judge Clarkson S. Fisher Jr.

Parents of the students had appealed after Superior Court Judge George H. Stanger Jr. decided Sept. 1 that the district corrected mold problems at the Chestnut Ridge and Orchard Valley Middle Schools. He denied the request that the students be transferred or be compensated for the cost of private schooling.

The first thing Marie Dinon noticed when she drove to her Fort Myers Beach home five days after Hurricane Charley hit was that only about 30 percent of her roof remained. It didn't take long to spot the 17-inch water marks on the outside of her home where floodwater had rushed past - and through - her Shell Mound Boulevard two-story house.

She knew the walls inside had gotten wet, but after she pulled the carpet, disinfected the floors and walls and removed furniture that obviously was ruined, Dinon thought she may have had a handle on a potential mold problem. But it was too late.

I had new piping put in my house and the plumbers didn't do the job right. Mold formed inside the house in three of the bedrooms and I became sick with pneumonia. It was later diagnosed as Legionnaires' disease. Can Legionnaries' disease be caused by mold? Or affect the air conditioner in my house where the spores would be spread around the house?

Legionella can be contracted, not by mold, but by the water in your home water distribution system. Your doctor is required to report your case to the Health Department, perhaps, they may culture your drinking water for Legionella. If you live in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York, these Health Departments will do this free for you in collaboration with our laboratory. Although air conditioning is popularly thought to be linked to Legionnaires' disease in the original 1976 American Legion outbreak, it is now known the source may have actually been the hotel water distribution system. The role of air conditioners in disseminating Legionnaires' disease is not supported by scientific studies.

MARTINSVILLE - Morgan County Health Officer Dr. John Reynolds confirmed this morning that a third courthouse employee might have tested for exposure to the bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease.

Reynolds said the third test had been conducted at a private laboratory and he was requesting additional information as to how the test was conducted before he confirmed the result.

Two groups of fifth-graders returned to their classrooms at Belgrade Intermediate School Thursday, having been evacuated after a wet carpet caused a mold problem.

The classroom has been professionally cleaned and tested, and is now safe for students, Robin Billau, a certified industrial hygienist hired by the Belgrade School District, said Thursday. "This is a maintenance issue, it's not an immediate health issue," Billau said Thursday.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Charley and Hurricane Frances, most of Florida has been mopping up and drying out in a state of discomfort -- during summer, in the subtropics and often without power, which means no air conditioning. It's wet, hot, steamy and dirty. Combined, it's the perfect environment for mold to grow.

Homeowners who have filed insurance claims from the hurricanes might not know that there's a good chance their policies don't cover mold damage.

I wanted to talk a little bit about Legionella, since it is mentioned in the article above about mold contamination at a courthouse. Legionella is a bacterium, not a fungus. Most cases of legionellosis are caused by Legionella pneumophila, but there are other species, such as Legionella micdadei, Legionella bozemanii, Legionella longbeachae and Legionella dumofii.

You cannot catch Legionella from mold, but some of the same conditions that allow Legionella to grow also allow some hydrophillic (water- loving) molds to grow. Legionella and mold can sometimes be found in cooling towers, evaporative condensors, humidifiers, decorative fountains, and hot tubs. Microorganisms In Home and Work Environments - Diversity, Health Impacts, Investigation and Control, Ed. Flannigan, Brian; Samson, Robert A.; and Miller, J. David, 2001 CRC Press has an excellent discussion of Legionella transmission factors and prevention of transmission.

Here's the Top Ten Ways to Tell That Your Kid Had a Bad First Day at school (number one on this list is actually Dave's number 10)

1. Already voted "Least Likely to Succeed."
2. His class schedule includes daily beatings from bullies, teachers, and the custodial staff.
3. Lunch was whatever he could scrape off the bottom of his desk.
4. His school bus driver made him ride on the outside of the bus.
5. Got tackled twice in gym class--three times in algebra.
6. Got tackled twice in gym class--three times in algebra.
7. When you ask how his day went he tells you to direct all further questions to his attorney.
8. Homework on the first day: try not to be such a loser.
9. Homework on the first day: try not to be such a loser.
10. Homework on the first day: try not to be such a loser.

Top Ten Signs You've Hired a Bad Lawyer (number one on this list is actually Dave's number 10)

1. Begins every sentence with "Well, as Ally McBeal once said..."
2. He keeps citing the legal case of Godzilla vs. Mothra.
3. Just before your trial starts he whispers, "The judge is the one with the little hammer, right?"
4. He thinks he'll win your case, "because there's a first time for everything"
5. He once failed to get a conviction of O. J. Simpson.
6. Whenever he says, "Your Honor" he makes thos elittle quotation marks in the air.
7. Sign in front of law office reads "Practicing Law Since 2:45"
8. Begins by telling jury, "You all look like you should be on Jerry Springer"
9. Giggles every time he hears the word "briefs"
10. His phone number: 1-600-SHYSTER