~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday Morning Mold November 29, 2004

Mold in the Media

November 29, 2004

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mold Stories

-- Web Site Wins [Mold Free] Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese (NewsMax.com, FL - Nov 25, 2004)

-- Slate's Explainer: Holy Grilled Cheese Shuns Mold (Day to Day [Audio], November 29, 2004)

-- New Study Defines "Typical" Mold in Homes (Market Wire - Nov 30, 2004)

-- United States: Mold Growth Can Dampen Your Day - New Hampshire: Court allows tenant to withhold rent for mold contamination; California: Apartment residents settle mold claims for $3.5 million; Kansas: Realtor sued for failure to disclose in mold case (Mondaq News Alerts, World - Nov 23, 2004)

-- Insurers fear mold could become 'the next asbestos' (Charlotte Sun-Herald, FL - Nov 28, 2004)

-- Mold Education: Aspergilliosis

-- Court Mold: Mold From Storms Closes Courthouse (Lakeland Ledger, FL - Nov 21, 2004)

-- School Mold: Parents insist mold at school made children ill - Parents say mold in some schools has made their children sick, but schools insist tests show otherwise (Newsday, NY - Nov 23, 2004)

-- Mold & Insurance: Calling your insurance company to ask what would happen if you had mold could get on your record, affecting future insurability. (Marco Island Sun-Times, FL - Nov 24, 2004)

-- Mold & Litigation: PLUMBING PROBLEMS - Salinas homeowners sue builders for design, construction flaws (Monterey County Herald, CA - Nov 22, 2004)

-- For Fun: Great Moments in Physics (Nils Bohr)

Dear C,

I'm still working on getting caught up. Here's an older edition that I wanted to make sure to get out. I was afraid you would miss the mold-Free Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese Sandwich.

This week's photo is of Aspergillus, from Dr. Terry Hill's page on the Rhodes College [Memphis] website.

Web Site Wins [Mold Free] Virgin Mary Grilled Cheese (NewsMax.com, FL - Nov 25, 2004)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A grilled cheese sandwich that bears the image of the Virgin Mary has been sold on eBay to Internet casino GoldenPalace.com for $28,000. Seller Diana Duyser made the sandwich 10 years ago, and after taking one bite out of it, noticed the Virgin Mary's face staring back at her. She put the sandwich in a clear plastic box with cotton balls and kept it on her night stand.

Duyser has received widespread media attention and maintains that her good luck is attributed to the iconic image in the bread. The paranormal nature of the sandwich is due mainly to the fact that millions of people are able to see the same holy icon on the bread, not to mention that a 10-year-old sandwich has remained remarkably free of mold. Oddly, no special care has been taken to preserve the sandwich.

Slate's Explainer: Holy Grilled Cheese Shuns Mold (Day to Day [Audio], November 29, 2004)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Slate senior editor Andy Bowers explains how a 10- year-old grilled cheese sandwich that supposedly bears an image of the Virgin Mary has remained free of mold. The sandwich recently sold for $28,000 on the eBay.com online auction site.

New Study Defines "Typical" Mold in Homes (Market Wire - Nov 30, 2004)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ATLANTA, GA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 11/30/2004 -- Air Quality Sciences (AQS) announces the release of a landmark study on mold in homes, "Air and Dustborne Mycoflora in Houses Free of Water Damage and Fungal Growth," in the November issue of Applied and Environmental Microbiology. This is the complete report from a study conducted by AQS in 2002 for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, in which data was collected from 50 single family homes with no history of major water damage to determine typical types and levels of molds found in homes in the southeast.

With much discussion about the potential dangers presented by mold indoors, homeowners are seeking guidelines for acceptable types and levels of mold. To date, experts have been unable to define specific thresholds or to clearly understand the link between damp buildings and health problems. However, most experts agree that extensive mold colonization indoors has a negative impact on occupant health and can also threaten the structural integrity of a building. This study is a critical step in understanding what is "normal and typical" so that there is a baseline against which to compare data from suspected problem homes.

United States: Mold Growth Can Dampen Your Day - New Hampshire: Court allows tenant to withhold rent for mold contamination; California: Apartment residents settle mold claims for $3.5 million; Kansas: Realtor sued for failure to disclose in mold case (Mondaq News Alerts, World - Nov 23, 2004)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

These headlines are just a sampling of some recent new reports about mold. Mold litigation and claims have exploded over the last five years. Insurers are specifically excluding mold from all types of insurance policies, lawyers are advertising to solicit mold claims against building owners, and large verdicts and settlements have fueled the feeding frenzy over mold. Target defendants have been sellers, building owners, developers, landlords, constructors, real estate agents, inspectors and just about everyone in the construction and transaction chain of real estate. All this hoopla exists despite the lack of medical evidence that links mold to serious medical problems.

While everyone agrees that mold has always existed, whether or not mold or mildew can cause illness has always been a subject of great debate. Some translations of the Bible have a passage in which God tells Moses and Aaron how to decontaminate a house in which mold or mildew has appeared, while other translations interchange mildew with skin disease or leprosy. Some have even alleged that the famous curse of King Tut's Tomb was really a release of mold spores, resulting in the sudden deaths among the archaeologists who were present at the opening of the tomb. However, the recent Institute of Medicine survey of health effects of mold (May 2004), found insufficient scientific evidence to link mold to serious health issues but did find a link between mold and allergies and allergy related asthma.

Insurers fear mold could become 'the next asbestos' (Charlotte Sun-Herald, FL - Nov 28, 2004)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For insurers, policyholders, "remediation experts," and attorneys, it's a portentous four-letter word -- mold. There are few federal or state guidelines defining good mold from potentially hazardous mold. There are no government regulations at any level stipulating how alleged mold damage should be handled.

With a cascade of conflicting information about the health effects of mold, an unregulated industry -- "mold remediation" -- has been spawned.

Mold Education: Aspergillosis

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aspergillosis is a large spectrum of diseases caused by members of the genus Aspergillus. The three principal entities are: allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, pulmonary aspergilloma and invasive aspergillosis. Colonization of the respiratory tract is also common. The clinical manifestation and severity of the disease depends upon the immunologic state of the patient. Lowered host resistance due to such factors as underlying debilitating disease, neutropenia chemotherapy, disruption of normal flora, and an inflammatory response due to the use of antimicrobial agents and steroids can predispose the patient to colonization, invasive disease, or both. Aspergillus spp. are frequently secondary opportunistic pathogens in patients with bronchiectasis, carcinoma, other mycoses, sarcoid, and tuberculosis.

Prognosis depends upon the type and severity of disease as well as the immunological status of the patient. Allergic aspergillosis is typically a chronic entity, but evolves from episodes of acute corticosteroid-responsive asthma to fibrotic end- stage lung disease. Allergic aspergillosis has been successfully treated with corticosteroids, and intraconazole. The prolonged use of steroids in cases of chronic aspergillosis should be approached with caution.

Court Mold: Mold From Storms Closes Courthouse (Lakeland Ledger, FL - Nov 21, 2004)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The federal courthouse in Palm Beach County has been closed due to mold spawned by hurricanes Frances and Jeanne. Chief U.S. District Judge William J. Zloch ordered the courthouse closed Friday after receiving complaints that the mold was making people sick.

There have been complaints about headaches, sinus problems and watery eyes, but no one has been hospitalized, said Clarence Maddox, court administrator for the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida.

School Mold: Parents insist mold at school made children ill - Parents say mold in some schools has made their children sick, but schools insist tests show otherwise (Newsday, NY - Nov 23, 2004)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Robert McConnell is sick, and his parents say it is his school that is making him that way. The slight seventh-grader has barely spent any time at Islip Terrace Junior High School this year. Every time he goes to school, his mother Christine says, he starts to wheeze, to cough, and often his breathing problems will progress to a full-blown asthma attack that sometimes requires hospitalization.

Because of this, he's walked in the front doors of his school only seven times this year. His parents, his doctor and many other concerned parents in the East Islip school district think the building itself is the reason for his ill health - and they worry other students at the junior high school, and some of the children in at least three of the district's elementary schools, might be showing signs that they, too, are becoming sick from mold, or perhaps some other factor.

Mold & Insurance: Calling your insurance company to ask what would happen if you had mold could get on your record, affecting future insurability. (Marco Island Sun-Times, FL - Nov 24, 2004)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The record is called a Comprehensive Loss Underwriters Evaluation (CLUE) Report. This is but one of the areas of discussion that drew a standing- room-only crowd last week at the Marco Island Community Bank Community Room.

The Marco Island Civic Association kicked off a series of homeowner awareness programs with its first one being Mold: It's What You Don't See That Gets You. I developed the event and moderated it. I had a panel that included Ann Carlano of Carlano Home Inspection Services and Joel Cox of Advanced Insurance Underwriters. In addition, George Wilson of Fire- Water Restoration Services added valuable information from a restoration perspective.

Mold & Litigation: PLUMBING PROBLEMS - Salinas homeowners sue builders for design, construction flaws (Monterey County Herald, CA - Nov 22, 2004)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Misty and Luis Arias say the problems with their house began on Christmas Eve in 1998. Misty had been out all day, preparing tamales. "It's very messy, so I came home to take a shower and get ready," she said. "That's when we came home to discover my daughter's room. The ceiling, literally in the middle, had just cracked."

A pipe in the ceiling above their daughter's bedroom had burst, raining down gallons of water and ruining furniture, carpet and clothes in their then-new home in North Salinas. Repairs cost nearly $4,000. Since then, the family says the home has experienced seven major leaks, the most recent in June when a pipe burst inside a bathroom wall.

For Fun: Great Moments in Physics (Nils Bohr)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The following concerns a question in a physics degree exam at the University of Copenhagen. "Describe how to determine the height of a skyscraper with a barometer." One student replied: "You tie a long piece of string to the neck of the barometer, then lower the barometer from the roof of the skyscraper to the ground. The length of the string plus the length of the barometer will equal the height of the building."

This highly original answer so incensed the examiner that the student was failed. The student appealed on the grounds that his answer was indisputably correct, and the university appointed an independent arbiter to decide the case. The arbiter judged that the answer was indeed correct, but did the problem it was decided to call the student in and allow him six minutes in which to provide a verbal answer which showed at least a minimal familiarity with the basic principles of physics.

Monday Morning Mold Archives

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

·  Hyde Mulvihill APC

·  Monday Morning Mold Archives - 2004

·  Monday Morning Mold Archives - 2003

Contact Information

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

email: cmulvihill@cmsynergy.com

phone: 626-358-7471

web: http://www.cmsynergy.com/California/California%20Law%20Firms/cynthia_coulter_mulvihill.htm