Toxic
mould invades house,
sickens family
03/09/2002
By JANE ZHANG
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 mould, 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, mould
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 mould 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 mould can lead to asthma, allergies, infectious diseases and such
toxic effects as aflatoxin-induced liver cancer.
In recent
years, mould has triggered thousands of lawsuits, prompting the first
mould bill in the nation last year, which required California home
sellers to disclose mould problems. Even Erin Brockovich, made famous
by the movie with her name, fought against landlords and insurers
for the mould contamination in her house. In 2001, a Texas court
awarded $32.1 million to victims exposed to extensive mould damage in
their homes.
Phillip
Fry, a certified mould inspector and manager of Mould Inspector in
Hurricane, said mould 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. Mould, 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 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 mould and breast
cancer, Brennan said the family was convinced that high levels of
mould 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 mould 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 mould-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.”
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