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Las Vegas Mold Inspector
in the News
The news article below was on
page 1 of the St. George, Utah,
Daily Spectrum newspaper on March 9, 2002
TOXIC MOLD INVADES HOUSE,
SICKENS FAMILY
By Jane Zhang, March 9,
2002
Ivins — Tiffany McDonald, 21, knew there must
be something enigmatic about her house near 200 East in Ivins.
Two years ago, her grandmother, Mary Brennan,
who was described as an energetic hiker, unexpectedly died of breast cancer at age 64,
three years after she moved into the $60,000 house. Then, during her pregnancy, McDonald
spent 10 days in the hospital because of “a weird smell” in the house.
And only nine months after her daughter,
Lainee, was born, the baby was bleeding internally, beginning a series of ailments from
asthma to diarrhea to bacterial infection.
“Seriously, I would rather leave everything
than feeling the way we felt,” said McDonald, who moved to her parents’ house in St.
George about seven weeks ago. The best way, she said, “probably is just forcing yourself
out, bankrupt and start over.”
The condemnation of her house was blamed on
toxic mold, which had invaded the bathroom, closet and bedroom. The fungus, which has 200
species, is routinely found in the United States, such as stachybotrys, chaetomium and
penicillium, display black, gray, brown and other colors with a musty smell. Spreading
through spores, mold can cause health problems to adults and pets if they inhale it,
swallow it or touch moldy surfaces. But it’s especially hazardous to small children, the
elderly and people with weakened immune systems.
In 2000, Newsweek magazine reported that mold
accounted for 6 to 7 percent of all chronic sinusitis cases. A report by the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development last year confirmed that certain types of
mold can lead to asthma, allergies, infectious diseases and such toxic effects as
aflatoxin-induced liver cancer.
In recent years, mold has triggered thousands
of lawsuits, prompting the first mold bill in the nation last year, which required
California home sellers to disclose mold problems. Even Erin Brockovich, made famous by
the movie with her name, fought against landlords and insurers for the mold contamination
in her house. In 2001, a Texas court awarded $32.1 million to victims exposed to
extensive mold damage in their homes.
Phillip Fry, a certified mold inspector and
manager of Mold Inspector in Hurricane, said mold exists in the southwestern desert area
because of the wide use of swampcoolers, which are susceptible to leaking while traveling
from the roof down into the house. Mold, which grows in dark, moist and warm
environments, can suck nutrition and water from various building materials, such as
cardboard, wallpaper and wooden substances.
McDonald’s father, Paul Brennan, has recently
quit his job as a crane operator to become an independent contractor working with Fry. On
a recent afternoon, Brennan, dressed in a Tyvek protective suit, one-piece eye goggles
and gloves, moved chairs, toys and furniture into a clean tent with double insulation.
After a chemical spray, he turned on a fan for about an hour to drive out swarms of
colonies.
When his mother bought the house, Paul
Brennan said, the previous owner had reported flood damage in the house. Mary Brennan
spent more than $10,000 to remodel the house, blanketing the floors with bleach.
Unfortunately, he said, bleach can’t penetrate rock, cement and wood. Soon it came back
even more so, contaminating “every room” through the circulating air.
 Even
though it’s hard to establish a direct link between mold and breast cancer, Brennan said
the family was convinced that high levels of mold have caused the sickness in their
daughter and granddaughter. After McDonald and her child moved away from the house, she
said, the symptoms began to go away. Lainee has also become more energetic and healthier.
Brennan encouraged people to inspect their
homes for any possible water leakage. People also should test the level of mold before
they buy a new house, he said. In the past two weeks, he has inspected four houses from
Southern Utah to Northern Nevada.
There have been reports that a family in
Oregon burned its mold-contaminated house. As for his house, he said, there’s not much he
can do.
“Talk to the bank, mostly. Lose it,” he said.
“What can I do? I don’t have any money to fix it. It won’t appraised for what it’s worth
it.” |
