Five State Governors Mark September National Indoor Toxic Mold Awareness Month
The Environmental Solution offers professional mold remediation and inspection services to safeguard against biological contaminates in your home or business. We are the Missouri State Representatives for the National Indoor Society and unfortunately Governor Matt Blunt refused to recognize this effort to address the importance of maintaining indoor air quality in the prevention of the production of mycotoxins in homes that affect thousands of Americans every year. We hope we can count on our new Governor Jay Nixon to take a step forward in addressing this National dilema.
Tampa, FL 9/22/2008
In recognition of the importance of maintaining high indoor air quality, last Friday the governors of Florida, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Nevada and Michigan signed the National Indoor Toxic Mold Awareness Proclamation according to the National Indoor Mold Society (NIMS). The goal is to use this month—between Sept. 5 and Oct. 5—to spark awareness of how indoor mold and mycotoxins can adversely affect health, and to prompt home and business owners to take precautions.
According to The Environmental Solution based out of Branson, MO and locations in Fort Myers, Sanford, and Naples, Florida, mold can occur wherever there is excess moisture—including carpets, walls and ductwork—and, without professional diagnosis and remediation, can lead to health conditions such as chronic allergies, asthma or more serious lung illnesses. A good start toward proactively safeguarding against mold, experts at The Environmental Solution say detection and elimination of mold in the home is sometimes critical for the health and safety of your home and family.
HVAC systems have been known as a significant carrier of biological contaminants if not professionally maintained and cleaned. Studies show that around 60% of mold contamination is directly caused in HVAC units. The design of most HVAC systems is to change the air in the building 4 times an hour thus causing all airborne contaminates to recirculate in the building.
Mold in Buildings
By Dennis Hevesi August 12, 2007
It is a slimy, sticky, black, brownish or sometimes orangey organism that mostly comes in knobby, though sometimes hairy, microscopic ovals — half a million or more spores fitting on the face of a dime.
Mold, in some of its myriad forms, has long been known to cause serious damage to some people's pulmonary systems. But over the last five years, for a mix of reasons, the literally creepy substance has also exerted increasing strains on the real estate industry, the insurance industry, the court system and architectural and construction practices.
Yet, given that fungus (its more scientific appellation) has inhabited the planet for millions of years, there are those caught up in the current concern who contend that, however legitimate in some cases, that worry has also been exaggerated.
The confusion stems, in part, from the fact that while some people can suffer serious health damage from exposure to mold, others are unaffected.
Some of the agitation was stirred by a federal agency's initial opinion, later reversed, that mold might have caused bleeding in the lungs of infants. Also in the mix has been litigious piling on after sizable damage awards in several court cases, including one, later scaled back, for $32 million; the insurance industry's hasty retreat from mold coverage; and insufficient understanding of the medical consequences of mold exposure.
"Five years ago, we would get one call a month about mold: a residence, a school, a commercial property," said Robert Krell, president of IAQ Technologies, an indoor environmental consulting and remediation company in Syracuse, N.Y. "Now we get 10 calls a day."
"I've seen people become deathly ill," Mr. Krell said. "I've also seen them make themselves ill with hysteria."
Daniel Sitomer, a partner in the environmental law firm of Sitomer & Hogan in Manhattan, calls for calm on the legal front, where about 10,000 mold-related lawsuits have been filed nationwide in the last three years. "What we've found where the knee-jerk response was to overreact and litigate," Mr. Sitomer said, "is that those who have commenced those suits have directly impacted the value of their own home."
Mr. Sitomer's firm represents both plaintiffs and defendants in mold-related cases, but specializes in preparing building managers and co-op and condominium boards to deal with the mold problem. "There's time to commence litigation after there's been a unified effort by the building and the residents to manage the mold," he said. "Once that's implemented, there's time to address responsibility and the development of claims."
About 24,000 homeowners across the nation — including 1,600 in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut — had mold-related insurance claims unresolved as of Dec. 31, according to a Texas-based homeowners advocacy group called Policyholders of America.
Last year, according to Robert P. Hartwig, the chief economist for the Insurance Information Institute, insurance companies paid out $2.5 billion in mold-related claims. "That's about double what it was in 2001," Mr. Hartwig said.
"In addition, in 2002 it became clear that the mold issue was no longer confined to homeowners' insurance," Mr. Hartwig continued, "but became a problem in commercial coverage as well — particularly for co-ops, condominiums, hotels and schools." Because they are corporations, co-ops and condominiums must carry commercial liability coverage.
The insurance industry has not taken kindly to the explosion in mold-related claims. At the industry's urging, 35 states — including New Jersey, but not New York or Connecticut — have allowed insurers to exclude mold coverage from homeowner policies. "In some states," Mr. Hartwig said, "insurers have introduced caps on the coverage for this type of claim, perhaps $5,000 or $10,000."
All of which squeezes homeowners and building owners.
In Texas — which along with California leads the nation in mold claims, at just under 5,000 each (followed by Florida with 3,900) — the per-policy cost of industry payouts for mold coverage rose from $23 in the first quarter of 2000 to $444 by the end of 2001, Mr. Hartwig said. "These costs are passed on to policyholders," he said.
Rental buildings have also been affected, with some landlords informing renters that they could be held responsible for not removing visible moisture or not reporting the appearance of mold to management.
With coverage limited and insurance companies fiercely contesting court claims, some owners of private homes are facing frightening choices — especially those with widespread contamination deep within their walls, plumbing, heating and ventilation systems. In those cases, remediation can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"One issue we are seeing more and more of these days is foreclosures," said Melinda Ballard, president of Policyholders of America. Ms. Ballard started her organization after winning the nation's most publicized mold-related lawsuit against an insurer, resulting in a damage award of $32 million — later reduced to $4 million.
"Let's say you have a family in a home with severe contamination and it's not covered by insurance," Ms. Ballard said. "They face ugly choices. They can stay and have their children suffer the health consequences. They can put their home up for sale and not disclose anything. Or they can hand the keys to the bank."
Starting in midyear 2002, Ms. Ballard said, her organization began receiving about 50 calls a week from people facing foreclosure because of mold exposure. "Here's the rub," she said, "when the bank forecloses, they sell it at auction — as-is."
Is Page Six Magazine a hazard to your health? YES! But only if you work there.
An operative writes in to tell Jossip “there are hundreds of toxic black mold spores that have just recently been discovered growing behind a series of file cabinets” in front of the art/ad sales department.
“Many Page Six Magazine staff members have refused to show up to the office until the matter is thoroughly investigated. Apparently there was a recent flood (last spring) on the 9th floor of the NY Post offices and that is what spawned the spores.”
Editor-in-chief Margi Conklin is said to have “expressed concern” over staffers’ health and, more importantly!, is “concerned about making the Thursday night close in time for the Sunday edition of the Post.”
“Many of the office members have suffered from unexplainable abdominal pains and a rash around their mid section.” Hardship! Especially for the pregnant lady we hear is on staff.
Hilton Doubles Estimate Of Mold Cleanup Cost Posted by Susan Lillard
Sunday, 03 October 2004
October 23, 2002
Honolulu, HI- Hilton Hotels Corporation says that the cost of cleaning up the mold at its Kalia Tower in Waikiki will be twice what it previously estimated. Hilton also says the 453 guest rooms at the Hilton Hawaiian Village tower will remain closed until next spring.
Hotel officials say it's going to cost about 20 million dollars now to clean up the mold growth at the tower. That's double the previous estimate of 10 million dollars.
Hilton corporate executive Marc Grossman says that while the company still must figure out the cause of the mold, it knows enough to say that it can anticipate opening Kalia Tower in some eight months.
Hilton opened the 95 million dollar Kalia Tower last year as a symbol of a revitalized Waikiki. The hotel closed guest rooms as mold was discovered earlier this year, but the finding wasn't announced publicly until the tower was closed July 24th.
Oh No! Sunday's issue could be in jeopardy