MOLD A GROWING CONCERN IN CALIFORNIA BULIDINGS

What if a tenant just reported to you that he is sick and believes his illness is linked to the mold growing in his rental unit? Over the past several years, this type of complaint has become a reality for a growing number of residential and commercial property owners throughout California. Until those initial complaints, these owners had never experienced this environmental issue at their properties.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, molds are very common in buildings and homes and will grow anywhere indoors where there is moisture. Mold spores may enter a home through open doorways, windows, heat ing, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. Spores in the air outside also attach themselves to people and animals, making clothing, shoes, bags, and pets convenient vehicles for carrying mold indoors. When mold spores drop on places where there is excessive moisture, such as where water leakage may have occurred in roofs, pipes, walls, plant pots, or where there has been flooding, they will grow. Many building materials provide suitable nutrients that encourage mold to grow. Wet cellulose materials, including paper and paper products, cardboard, ceiling tiles, wood, and wood products, are particularly conducive for the growth of some molds. Other materials such as dust, paints, wallpaper, insulation materials, drywall, carpet, fabric, and upholstery, commonly support mold growth.

At the same time, there are many types of molds, most of which are harmless. There are a number of molds, however, such as Stachybotrys Chartarum, Penicillium, and Aspergillus, that can be dangerous to individuals when they are exposed to extensive amounts.

According to Benchmark Environmental Consultants, a consulting firm based in San Jose, excessive rain has impacted our housing stock – both old and new. In some buildings, water leaks during excessive rains and lack of maintenance (or leaks that went unreported by tenants or by previous owners) allowed mold to grow. In new construction, porous materials may not have been kept dry during construction, and the materials were damaged due to moisture, allowing mold to grow from the start. At the same time, buildings today are more likely to be tightly sealed, providing an agreeable environment for mold. While exposure to high concentrations of toxic mold is not healthy for anyone, some individuals are more inclined than other people to be negatively impacted by toxic mold. Our population is living longer, and for some elderly individuals, their immune system tends to weaken with age and/or is aggravated by combining environmental toxins. Infants and children are also at higher risk for adverse health effects along with individuals whose immune systems are already compromised due to HIV, asthma, or liver disease, etc. At the same time, an increased awareness about toxic mold (due to media and litigation), together with a fear about the mold’s impact on an individual’s current physical health have caused many tenants to complain to property owners, medical personnel, local housing officials, and their lawyers. The California Department of Health Services does provide some guidance for owners who are faced with mold, and the Department does include information about general clean-up procedures. Go to their website at http://www.dhs.ca.gov/ps/deodc/ehib/ehib2/topics/mold.html for that information.

The California Apartment Association in conjunction with the Benchmark Environmental Services has also developed a new course on Mold. The course gives an overview of the issue and explains how to investigate and remediate mold problems. The focus of this course is training for proper remediation techniques. See the education section of CAA’s website at www.caanet.org for a class near you.