Word: mold
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Like some sort of biblical plague, toxic mold has been creeping through homes, schools and other buildings across the U.S. Although press reports have focused on stachybotrys, strains of aspergillus, chaetomium and penicillium have also triggered their share of grief. At least two families have burned their homes to rid themselves of the contamination. Thousands more, including antipollution crusader Erin Brockovich, are suing home builders, landlords and insurers for damages to their property and their health. Last month the California state senate approved the country's first mold bill, which would set standards for acceptable levels indoors and require home...
Amid the frenzy, a cottage industry of fungus busters, mold lawyers and support groups is growing. On June 4 a jury found that Farmers Insurance should pay Melinda Ballard of Dripping Springs, Texas, $32 million for mold damage to her 22-room, hilltop mansion and for her ensuing mental anguish. In May the Delaware Supreme Court upheld a $1 million jury award to Elizabeth Stroot of Wilmington, Del., who claimed that moldy water leaking into the bathroom of her apartment aggravated her asthma and caused cognitive disorders...
Faced with a rising number of claims, insurers and home builders are looking for ways to minimize their liability. Farmers, which estimates that in Texas alone it will have to shell out $85 million in mold claims, has simply eliminated coverage in some 30 states. Says Janet Bachman, vice president of the American Insurance Association: "We are not the guarantors of public health." The California building industry tried and failed to push through a "home warranty" bill, under which homeowners could be required to enter binding arbitration instead of suing for defects...
...much of the crisis is based on hard science and how much stems from plain old hysteria--fanned by news reports and plaintiffs' lawyers--is a hotly contested issue. Mold, after all, is everywhere, from the tasty Roquefort cheese in your salad dressing to the nasty black stuff clinging to the grout in your bathroom. Doctors know that certain strains can trigger allergic reactions, asthma and other respiratory ailments. They have discovered that toxins produced by aspergillus molds can cause cancer. But proving that a mold in this house caused this person's nosebleeds or mental confusion is a notoriously...
Among the skeptics, Dr. Emil Bardana, of Oregon Health & Science University, argues that most people will experience little more than "transient irritations," such as a runny nose or teary eyes, that clear up once the mold is removed...