Mold linked to breathing woes but not other ills

Across the country, from high-profile Beverly Hills homeowner Ed McMahon and Manhattan renter Bianca Jagger to young homeowners in suburban developments, Americans increasingly complain that indoor mold has sickened them and made houses and apartments uninhabitable.

In recent years, insurance companies have paid out billions for infestations of molds with exotic names like Stachybotrys chartarum. Some insurers have stopped writing new homeowners policies, or added mold exclusions to policies, because of the potential liability. At the same time, new businesses have cropped up to sample air and remove mold in affected buildings.

Builders and insurers, meanwhile, have called the fears overblown, saying that the public has been unduly influenced by publicity and that in most cases, mold can be removed and buildings made livable again.

Now, a federal panel has weighed in, saying that mold constitutes a public health problem, especially among particularly vulnerable people, but that excessive indoor dampness isn’t in and of itself a cause of illness.

In the first comprehensive analysis of the health effects of indoor mold, members of an Institute of Medicine panel found that the problem can aggravate respiratory ills in asthmatics who are sensitive to mold, and lead to coughing, wheezing and upper respiratory problems in the healthy. The panel also found “suggestive evidence� that indoor dampness might play a role in the development of asthma, and that it might be connected to shortness of breath and some lower respiratory illnesses in youngsters.

“Because excessive dampness is prevalent in buildings and is associated with a range of respiratory symptoms, it constitutes a public health problem,� panel chairwoman Noreen Clark said last week at a news conference announcing the findings.

Wet conditions, which are all-too-common results of leaks, ground moisture or insufficient ventilation, can foster the growth of mold, dust mites and bacteria and the release of chemicals from building materials and furnishings. All can be irritants or allergy triggers.

Even among molds, “not all produce toxins,� said Clark, dean of the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. “And even those that produce toxins only produce them at some points in their lifespan.�

The panelists said they lacked the studies and reliable scientific evidence necessary to link a constellation of complaints, such as headaches, fatigue, memory loss and other neurological symptoms to molds, which reproduce by releasing tiny spores.

David Stern, vice president of West Coast Casualty Service Inc. in Agoura Hills, which represents contractors and their insurers in lawsuits brought by real estate owners, said that the federal study reinforced what he had been hearing within the industry. “The mold is not as bad as what people say, but if you’re what’s called an ‘eggshell plaintiff’ -- somebody who is susceptible to bacteria, an asthmatic, someone who is elderly whose respiratory system is in a weakened state -- there could be problems,� he said.

An advocate for affected homeowners, meanwhile, welcomed the federal recognition of building mold as a public health problem.

“I’m so pleased that they have said this needs further study,� said Janet Ahmad, president of Homeowners for Better Building in San Antonio, who has testified on behalf of homeowners in her home state and elsewhere. “Their houses are destroyed by mold and it’s just heartbreaking.�

Panel members recommended that homeowners and building owners rapidly respond to water leaks and clean up or remove visible mold to eliminate the potential hazards.

Indoor mold can grow anyplace there are moisture and air, such as showers, roofs, carpeting, ceiling tiles and furniture, or around appliances such as washers and air conditioners. The colonies can appear as patches of black slime in the case of stachybotrys, or splotches of black, white, gray, pink or yellow. Musty odors can be a tipoff to their presence.

Because mold can also occur inside drywall, crawl spaces or air ducts, detection sometimes requires professional air testing.

Last May, insurers, environmental consultants, cleanup specialists and other plaintiffs in McMahon’s lawsuit agreed to a $7.2-million settlement of his claims that he and his wife, as well as household staff, became sickened by mold in their Beverly Hills home. Jagger, a human rights activist and ex-wife of Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger, has complained of headaches, lung and neurological problems from mold infesting her $4,600-a-month Park Avenue apartment and has been in ongoing litigation with her landlord.

Dr. Karin Pacheco, an occupational allergist at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, said that in most cases “when people get away from the exposure, they get better.�