Canada Toxic Mould Lawsuits
Take action against mould, a
billion dollar problem that can cause serious illness and even death.
By: Ron Chepesiuk
The houses in the Victoria
Village subdivision of Port Perry, Ontario, may be young, but their owners
know something is terribly wrong with their investments. A black rot eats
away the posts holding up the porches, while the paint on many houses
peels and crumbles, inside and out. The presence of toxic mould, though, is
the most serious problem. Worried residents know that the dangerous fungus
can lead to a number of illnesses, including asthma, nausea, migraines,
respiratory illnesses... And even death.
"We've had to buy new
mattresses," residents Kathy McIntosh, told the press. "Anything that was
in there (her house) had to be condemned." McIntosh has joined fellow
residents in a $5 million lawsuit against the developer and the township
of Scugog. The lawsuit alleges negligence, misrepresentation and breach of
contract on the developer's part and claims the township failed to carry
out proper inspections and ensure that the developer was meeting all the
building codes.
The toxic fungus Stachybotrys
Chartarum grows especially well on water-damaged sheet rock.
From healthandenergy.com.
The Port Perry lawsuit is one
of several such recent lawsuits in the U.S. and Canada. In one Toronto
suburb, for example, parents who say their children have been ill from
toxic mould have launched a $1 billion suit against the Peel Region
Separate School Board. Meanwhile, leaky condos in Vancouver have affected
a huge population and sparked a provincial inquiry. "The damage has been
assessed at $1 billion in repair costs for houses built since 1986,"
revealed Dr. John Straube, a professor at the University of Waterloo in
Waterloo, Ontario, who serves as a consultant on the toxic mould
problem.
Experts predict Canadians and
Americans will be hearing a lot about incidents of toxic mould in the
coming years. The Ottawa-based Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)
warns in a pamphlet published at its web site that "if you live in a damp
house, or have ever experienced flooding, your house may be breeding an
often invisible and always unwelcome intruder - mould."
Ken Ruest, Senior Researcher
with the CMHC points out that, "a lot of people are unaware there's a
toxic mould problem until their house is so badly affected they can't live
in it anymore."
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