(AS A PUBLIC SERVICE, VOICE OF THE AUSTIN MAJORITY IS REPUBLISHING THE INFORMATION BELOW- THIS DECISION WAS MADE AFTER BEING INFORMED THAT BOTH APARTMENTS 611 AND 1007 AT MC NEIL HOUSE APARTMENTS ARE AGAIN BEING RENTED OUT! TOXIC MOLDS EXSIST AT MC NEIL HOUSE APARTMENTS!)
The truth of what is going on at Mc Neil House Apartments, in Austin Texas.
The management would have you believe:"THE BLACK MILDEW YOU SEE IS NOT MOLD"
BUT WHAT THEY CALL MILDEW CAN BE DEADLY
6280 Mc Neil Drive, Austin Texas 78729
Many forms of hazardous mold exsist within it's dwellings.DO NOT SUBJECT YOURSELF OR YOUR FAMILY TO THIS!
Mc Neil House Apartment Homes 6280 Mc Neil Drive Austin, Tx. 78729
1-512-331-6100
Apt. Manager: Dawn Aiello Co-Manager: Steve Terry Maintenance Lead: Ruben Maintenance: Gonzalo BLACK MOLD! TOXIC AND ALLERGENS IN MASS AMOUNTS! ATTEMPTED "REMEDY" BY STAFF= WHITE SPRAY PAINTFriday, February 27, 2004MC NEIL HOUSE DOES NOT VALUE IT'S TENANTS. THE MANAGER, UPON BEING TOLD NUMEROUS TIMES ABOUT A MOLD PROBLEM, ONCE LEFT A NOTE ON THE DOOR STATING "MOLD HAS BEEN AROUND SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME. :) HAVE A NICE DAY!!!"- DAWN AIELLODAWN HAS ALSO MADE STATEMENTS SUCH AS "THE BLACK MILDEW YOU SEE IS NOT MOLD"BUT, BE INFORMED THAT DAWN AIELLO HAS NO DEGREE IN BIOLOGY AND IS NOT A CERTIFIED MOLD EXPERT.A CERTIFIED MOLD EXPERT CAME TO OUR APARTMENT AND NOTED SERIOUS MOLD INFESTATIONS.KEEP IN MIND THAT, MOLD SENDS OUT SPORES WHICH GET IN ALL OF YOUR PILLOWS, CLOTHES, CURTAINS, ETC..., AND WHEN YOU MOVE YOU TAKE IT WITH YOU.AND GUESS HOW MUCH WE PAY TO LIVE WITH MOLD AND BE TREATED LIKE TRASH? THE LIST PRICE ON OUR APARTMENT IS $1,269.00 MONTHLY.THE MANAGEMENT MAY GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF A "RENT DEAL" AND GET YOU TO MOVE IN FOR LESS, HOWEVER, WHAT THEY DO NOT INFORM YOU OF IS ALL THE EXTRA EXPENSES, ELECTRIC BILLS FOR US RAN CLOSE TO $400.00 A MONTH, ONLY TO REALIZE THAT THE APT. WAS NOT VERY WELL WEATHER PROOFED OR INSULATED. YES, WE COMPLAINED, AND THE MANAGEMENT SENT MAINT. OUT. THEY APPLIED DUCT TAPE ON A CORNER OF A DOOR AND CONSIDERED IT COMPLETED.WOULD YOU WANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS? Posted by: Joshua / 4:00 PMQ. If mold is present in the walls of home when it is being built will the mold go away after the walls are sealed up as long as no water enters that wall area?1. A. No, mold does not "go away" after walls of a new home are sealed. If mold spores and mold growth are denied access to current moisture, they will simply go dormant, waiting for future water from high humidity [above 60%] or future roof leaks, plumbing leaks, etc. Even the smell of dormant mold can make some people sick. Mold needs to be removed from all new home timbers and building materials, and then the mold decontaminated area needs to be sprayed with two wet spray coatings of Coverage Plus mold fungicide and Tim-bor antimicrobial coating. 1. Exposure to mold is not healthy for anyone but the following individuals are at a higher risk for adverse heath effects: infants, children, elderly, immune compromised patients, pregnant women, and individuals with existing respiratory conditions. When inhaled, even in small amounts, mold can cause a wide range of health problems including respiratory problems (wheezing), nasal and sinus congestion, watery and red eyes, nose and throat irritation, skin irritation, aches and pains, fevers, and in some cases even death.A person who ingests or inhales a large number of spores may suffer adverse health effects.1. What health effects can be caused by exposure to mold?Exposure to any mold could cause health effects (e.g., allergic symptoms such as watery eyes, a runny nose, sneezing, nasal congestion, itching, coughing, wheezing, difficulty breathing, headache and fatigue) under the right conditions. Similarly, the same amount of mold may cause health effects in one person, but not in another, because some people are more sensitive to molds than others. These include:infants and children elderly persons immune compromised patients (i.e., people with HIV infection, cancer, liver disease, etc., or who are under-going chemotherapy) individuals with existing respiratory conditions, such as allergies and asthma. Should I be concerned about mold in my home?When airborne mold spores are present in large numbers, they can cause skin irritation, allergic reactions, asthma episodes, infections and other respiratory problems for people. Exposure to high spore levels can cause the development of an allergy to the mold. Mold also can cause structural damage to your home.Can my home be tested for mold?1. Testing for molds is very difficult and expensive. Homeowners must hire a contractor to test their homes. Even if testing is done, no standards exist to judge what are acceptable amounts of mold. Testing cannot determine whether health effects will occur. Mold is normally found outdoors and counts fluctuate from day to day depending on the season. Due to the uncertainties associated with testing for molds, it is not recommended in most cases. If you can see or smell mold, testing is usually not necessary. It needs to be cleaned up.Common symptoms of exposure to mold range from the following: Headache, fatigue, shortness of breath. Sinus congestion, coughing and sneezing.Eye, nose, throat and skin irritation. Dizziness and nausea. .Not everyone has the same sensitivity to mold so it is possible for one person to experience discomfort while others living in the home to have no symptoms whatsoever. Individuals at the greatest risk include: Allergy and asthma sufferers. People with respiratory disease. People with compromised immune systems. Contact lens wearers. If mold in your home is the source of these issues, you will find that your health improves if you are away from your home for an extended period of time. Common symptoms of exposure to mold range from the following: Headache, fatigue, shortness of breath. Sinus congestion, coughing and sneezing. Eye, nose, throat and skin irritation. Dizziness and nausea. Why are we concerned about mold? Small amounts of mold growth in workplaces or homes (such as mildew on a shower curtain) or workplaces are not a major concern, but no mold should be permitted to grow and multiply indoors. When molds are present in large quantities, they may cause nuisance odors and health problems for some people. Mold can damage building materials, finishes and home furnishings. Some molds can cause structural damage to wood.How do molds affect people? Most people will have no reaction at all when exposed to molds. Allergic reactions, similar to common pollen or animal allergies, are the most common health effects for individuals sensitive to molds. Flu-like symptoms and skin rash may occur. Molds may also aggravate asthma. Fungal infections from building-associated molds may occur in people with serious immune disease but this is very rare. Who is affected by exposure to mold? For those who are affected by mold exposure, there can be a wide variation in how they react. People who may be affected more severely and quickly than others include:infants and children elderly people pregnant women individuals with respiratory conditions or allergies and asthma persons with weakened immune systems (for example, people with HIV infection, chemotherapy patients, or organ or bone marrow transplant recipients, autoimmune diseases.) Molds produce tiny spores to reproduce. Mold spores waft through the indoor and outdoor air continually. When mold spores land on a damp spot indoors, they may begin growing and digesting whatever they are growing on in order to survive. There are molds that can grow on wood, paper, carpet, and foods. When excessive moisture or water accumulates indoors, mold growth will often occur, particularly if the moisture problem remains undiscovered or un-addressed. There is no practical way to eliminate all mold and mold spores in the indoor environment; the way to control indoor mold growth is to control moisture.1. The key to mold control is moisture control. It is important to dry water damaged areas and items within 24-48 hours to prevent mold growth. If mold is a problem in your home, clean up the mold and get rid of the excess water or moisture. Fix leaky plumbing or other sources of water. Wash mold off hard surfaces with detergent and water, and dry completely. Absorbent materials (such as ceiling tiles & carpet) that become moldy may have to be replaced.NOTE: There are laws against endangerment of your health. The more people that know about the problem, the less likely the owner/manager is to continue endangering your health or to take illegal actions against you.Going to court is likely to take too long to keep you from further health problems, such as acquiring a life-long lung disease due to the mold. There are currently no legal limits on the amounts or types of mold in occupied buildings.1. If the owner/manager fails to quickly eliminate the mold problem, then you should do the following before the apartment owner/manager has a chance to cover-up the mold:Some molds that propagate indoors may, under some conditions, produce mycotoxins that can adversely affect living cells and organisms by a variety of mechanisms. Adverse effects of molds and mycotoxins have been recognized for centuries following ingestion of contaminated foods. Occupational diseases are also recognized in association with inhalation exposure to fungi, bacteria, and other organic matter, usually in industrial or agricultural settings. Molds growing indoors are believed by some to cause building-related symptoms. Despite a voluminous literature on the subject, the causal association remains weak and unproven, particularly with respect to causation by mycotoxins. One mold in particular, Stachybotrys chartarum, is blamed for a diverse array of maladies when it is found indoors. Despite its well-known ability to produce mycotoxins under appropriate growth conditions, years of intensive study have failed to establish exposure to S. chartarum in home, school, or office environments as a cause of adverse human health effects. Levels of exposure in the indoor environment, dose-response data in animals, and dose-rate considerations suggest that delivery by the inhalation route of a toxic dose of mycotoxins in the indoor environment is highly unlikely at best, even for the hypothetically most vulnerable subpopulations. Normal building materials and furnishings provide ample nutrition for many species of molds, but they can grow and amplify indoors only when there is an adequate supply of moisture. Where mold grows indoors there is an inappropriate source of water that must be corrected before remediation of the mold colonization can succeed. Mold growth in the home, school, or office environment should not be tolerated because mold physically destroys the building materials on which it grows, mold growth is unsightly and may produce offensive odors, and mold is likely to sensitize and produce allergic responses in allergic individuals.Molds and other fungi may adversely affect human health through three processes: 1) allergy; 2) infection; and 3) toxicity. One can estimate that about 10% of the population has allergic antibodies to fungal antigens. Only half of these, or 5%, would be expected to show clinical illness. Furthermore, outdoor molds are generally more abundant and important in airway allergic disease than indoor molds — leaving the latter with an important, but minor overall role in allergic airway disease. Allergic responses are most commonly experienced as allergic asthma or allergic rhinitis ("hay fever"). A rare, but much more serious immune-related condition, hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP), may follow exposure (usually occupational) to very high concentrations of fungal (and other microbial) proteins. Some molds have been known to produce toxins that are harmful to animals and humans when ingested, inhaled or in contact with the skin. The molds that produce toxins are known as toxigenic molds. The earliest known toxigenic molds, primarily Claviceps purpurea, produce the substance ergot. The ergot molds infect rye, grains and other grasses. Ingestion of ergot contaminated rye or other cereals causes ergotism. There are two types of ergotism recognized clinically: gangrenous and convulsive. Gangrenous ergotism affects the extremities as well as causes gastrointestinal symptoms. Convulsive ergotism affects the nerve system causing brain and spinal lesions which can lead to death or permanent mental impairment.Many molds in addition to ergot molds produce secondary toxic metabolites, such as alkaloids, cyclopeptides, and coumarins. Metabolites that can produce adverse health effects (mycotoxicoses) in animals and humans are collectively known as mycotoxins. The latest World Health Organization (WHO) publication on mycotoxins, available in 1990, indicated that there are more than 200 mycotoxins produced by a variety of common molds. Historically, mycotoxins are a problem to farmers and food industries and in Eastern European and third world countries. However, many toxigenic molds, such as Stachybotrys chartarum (also known as Stachybotrys atra) and species of Aspergillus and Penicillium, have been found to infest buildings with known indoor air and building-related problems.In addition to mycotoxins, volatile organic compounds (moldy odors) released from actively growing molds may also pose a health risk.What are the health effects of mycotoxins?Mycotoxins may cause a variety of short-term as well as long-term adverse health effects. This ranges from immediate toxic response and immune-suppression to the potential long-term carcinogenic effect. Symptoms due to mycotoxins or toxins-containing airborne spores (particularly those of Stachybotrys chartarum) include dermatitis, recurring cold and flu-like symptoms, burning sore throat, headaches and excessive fatigue, diarrhea, and impaired or altered immune function. The ability of the body to fight off infectious diseases may be weakened resulting in opportunistic infections. Certain mycotoxins, such as zearalenone (F2 toxin), can cause infertility and stillbirths in pigs. Because these symptoms may also be caused by many other diseases, misdiagnoses of mycotoxin exposures are common. There are very few physicians with the experience or expertise in correctly diagnosing mycotoxin exposures or mycotoxicoses. Occupational or building-related exposures to mycotoxins through inhalation are slowly being recognized as a major indoor air quality problem. Generally, removal of causative agents is necessary. Treatment for symptomatic mycotoxicosis may be required. If exposure to molds and mycotoxins is suspected, consult an occupational health professional. Fungal growth in an indoor environment is often related to the availability of nutrient, water/moisture, proper temperature range and the presence of inoculum (often fungal spores). The key factor is water/moisture. Moisture control to reduce condensation and free water will prevent or control fungal growth.In an environment where water/moisture-related problems often lead to fungal growth, rapid response to the problem is the key solution. Mold-infested materials should be removed and replaced (see also below). Materials that can not be replaced should be decontaminated or treated. Consult an environmental microbiologist for such decontamination treatments. Proper project design and procedures are an important factor in a successful decontamination project. Biocidal application may be necessary under certain conditions. More importantly, before any decontamination is performed, water and excessive moisture must be controlled and eliminated.Most importantly, fungal infestation may be directly correlated with building operation and maintenance. Spores of Stachybotrys chartarum are wet and slimy. They do not easily become airborne. Their dissemination is likely through insects (such as cockroaches), rodents, water incursion or air stream. Without the assistance of insects, rodents and free running water, the likelihood of Stachybotrys chartarum spreading from one location to the other requires the disturbance of a dried slimy spore mass. Spores and hyphae of S. chartarum have been detected in air samples. Any detection of S. chartarum spores in indoor air should be considered significant.To prevent or eliminate fungal infestation in buildings, the following procedures should be observed:1. Heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems must be properly filtered and maintained. 2. Water intrusion must be taken care of within 24 hours. Never overlook small leaks. Ignored small leaks are much more problematic than a properly handled major flood. For additional information on the proper handling of water intrusion, please see Enviros Vol. 3, No. 8 (August 1993); back issues are available. 3. Proper handling and storage of food to keep insects and rodents away from buildings. 4. In a warm, humid climate, a building engineer should be consulted to make sure that a moisture barrier is properly installed and that no condensation will occur. 5. Install dehumidifiers in areas where humidity is constantly high. Keep relative humidity between 20% and 50%. 6. If large areas of contamination are determined, asbestos-like remediation procedures are necessary. Consult an industrial hygienist with experience in asbestos remediation procedures, as well as in biohazard remediation. If a building is known to have extensive fungal growth, consult an industrial hygienist with training and experience in microbiological control. Human and environmental protection must be observed when removing and handling fungal contaminated materials.A case of attempted suicide with purified aflatoxin [B.sub.1] is reported to have occurred in 1966 in the USA. A young woman ingested a total of 5.5 mg of aflatoxin [B.sub.1] over 2 days and, 6 months later, a total of 35 mg over 2 weeks. Following the first exposure, she was admitted to hospital with a transient, nonpruritic, macular rash, nausea and headache; the second time she reported nausea only. 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.I've seen people become deathly ill," Mr. Krell said.Which hardly means that mold is harmless. "We know that there are a range of health effects related to mold exposure," said Dr. Maida P. Galvez"We know that families with strong histories of allergic diseases are more susceptible to these exposures," Dr. Galvez said, "that mold can exacerbate these conditions." At a minimum, mold can cause eye, ear, nose and throat irritation, as well as coughing and wheezing — sometimes severe and unrelenting.Still, mold can be deadly. Dr. Jordan Fink, a professor in the allergy and immunology division of the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, said mold can cause hypersensitivity pneumonitis, resulting in progressive lung impairment. "There have been fatal cases of hypersensitivity pneumonitis," he said, "because of the inflammation and scarring of pulmonary tissue." Mold thrives on moisture. And, as Mr. Garcia emphasized, remediation requires elimination of the source. "Whatever caused water damage must be fixed," he said. "Realistically, that should be done before the cleaning, because the mold will come back." Better yet, leaks should be eliminated before mold ever takes root.If mold does become visible — a big if, given that it also thrives in a building's dark recesses — a cleanup is in order.The Old Testament, while genteelly referring to mold as mildew, offers a harsh prescription. Speaking of "the priest," Leviticus 14, says: "If mildew has spread on the walls, he is to order that the contaminated stones be torn out." If mildew reappears, it says, "the house must be torn down."Mold releases microscopic fungal spores that, if inhaled, can trigger allergy and asthma symptoms in sensitive people, Reynolds explains. It can also lead to sinus infections.Mold in the La Venezia ApartmentsLet me begin by introducing myself. My name is Gina Lewis and I moved into the apartments at La Venezia in November 2002. We moved out in April 2003. My husband, 3-year-old son and I were very impressed with the spacious apartment we moved into (Apartment 212). We wanted to make it homey and nice. We were welcomed with open arms and given a checklist. We were asked to write down any problems we thought there were with the apartment. We noticed a stain on the wall in our master bedroom and reported it to the maintenance person, Chris, (no longer with La Venezia). At first we thought we might have spilled coffee or tea on the wall and my husband painted over it. The stain reappeared after it had rained. We called maintenance again, but the problem was never fixed. At the time we rented the apartment, the complex was not owned by LaVenezia, L.L.C. It was operated and managed by Epoch Management.FEELING SICK around December 2002My son began getting cold symptoms. We started bringing him to the doctor and he was placed on antibiotic after antibiotic. He had diarrhea, green mucous discharge constantly running from his nose, temperatures, ear infections, etc. I remember one day driving in the car and he was on antibiotics and he tried to blow that discharge from his nose, but it would not come out. He said, “Mommy, look, I can breathe!” I thought, thank God. Hopefully this will be the last of it. However, it just kept continuing. We were constantly called to take my son out of daycare because of his high temperatures and vomiting. Let me state that his symptoms began well before he was placed in daycare. I was constantly out of work because of respiratory problems, bronchitis, ear infections, diarrhea, headaches, urinary tract infections, yeast infections, etc. Someone would ask me a question and a minute later I would forget the question or I would begin slurring my words. I was so forgetful. I never had any problems with asthma or my breathing before moving into La Venezia. We moved out of La Venezia in April, however I am still sick. I keep getting ear infections, my body constantly aches like the flu, I am exhausted all the time and I am going to be seen by a specialist shortly. The doctors are perplexed and my family is very worried about me. This has been a constant battle and I just want my health back so that I can enjoy time with my family. After work, I just go home and go to sleep. I sleep the weekends away and I am constantly taking Advil or placed on antibiotics. My husband was very ill while living at LaVenezia also. He also had breathing problems, diarrhea, headaches, etc.THE NEW OWNER AND HIS CONCERN FOR RESIDENTSIn January, I had spoken to David Taylor and he told me that he was not aware of the problems because he had just bought LaVenezia in January. He offered to move us into another apartment building after many letters and he was very cooperative when the health inspector came to point out the mold, the roof leaks, the cracks, poor paint jobs, window leaks, etc. He was somewhat apprehensive, but moved us into another building. We were also not obligated to the Lease Agreement from that day forward as I knew a little about Florida Law and the responsibility of the owner. Even though the health inspector showed him the problems and the mold in apartment 212, David Taylor would not admit to mold. He would only admit to water or plumbing problems. I find that quite peculiar, as water damage is the cause of mold.When Bob Kallotte (the health inspector) mentioned court to David Taylor and made a comment on David Taylor’s Rolex watch, David Taylor said that he wouldn’t be wearing that Rolex watch in court if he had to go. David Taylor also said to me that he had to worry about the buildings because of the next rainstorm. I find it strange that Florida has had an unusual amount of rain this season. Have you noticed any water intrusion in your apartment? The maintenance person, Ryan Berry came into our second apartment to look at the air conditioning unit and the window leaks we were complaining about. He said to my husband that he did not understand why we had window leaks as they had cleaned those windows up real good. Did you know that painting over mold or putting sealer over the mold only masks the problem? In fact, David Taylor sent us a letter from an “inspector”, Tony Posa. This “inspector” did inspections for hotels, yet we received an inspection from this man stating that there was no mold in our apartment. I thought it was a coincidence that the maintenance manager was hired by David Taylor and previously worked in the hotel industry. I found it interesting that we received a notice on our door from management saying they were doing air quality testing. What type of air quality testing? How thorough? How objective? Was it because they were looking out for our health or was it an attempt to make us believe that there were no mold problems with inadequate testing? Have you noticed the late night commercials regarding renting apartments at LaVenezia? They show the beautiful property, but they don’t show any remediation.DANGER - APARTMENT NUMBER TWO AND THE THREATS BEGINIt was not long before David Taylor and Beverly Crafts changed their attitude to nasty. I was approached by Beverly Crafts and David Taylor in a golf cart outside of my apartment (1875) before a gathering at the clubhouse. They were trying to intimidate me and I was in the car with my mother and son. David Taylor asked why I was still living there and why I was smoking if my mother had COPD. I responded by telling him that I was not smoking inside the car and I would not subject my mother and son to the smoke. Also take into consideration that when we did smoke, we went outside onto the lanai. We never smoked in the apartment. Of course he tried to blame our health issues on smoking.I found it ironic that he would bring this hypocrisy up in front of Beverly Crafts who does smoke. I also know the risks of smoking and health, but I have never heard that smoking contributes to memory loss, urinary tract infections and yeast infections. I chose to put a cigarette in my mouth and light it, however I did not choose to breathe in mold spores, I was forced without my knowledge. I also wonder how my son and mother (both nonsmokers) could develop breathing problems and a list of medical issues. Beverly Crafts called me crazy. At that time, I suggested to Mr. Taylor, if he wanted us to move he could waive our cost of rent and we would immediately move out. He did not respond well to that. In fact, he said, “It’s all about money with you isn’t it Gina?” I say to myself, all about money? Here we were paying for a hotel room, throwing away all of our belongings because of mold contamination, out of money, robbed of our health, out of health insurance, a child constantly having diarrhea and a green discharge from his nose, etc. and here is a man who has a wife and son highly allergic to mold.I wrote David Taylor a letter offering him and his family to live in Apartment 1825 while we were staying at the hotel. Of course he did not subject his family to the mold spores. I don’t think the man cared if we were homeless and sick or not. All he could think of was his business and his money. He then asked if my employer was aware that I was faxing letters to LaVenezia’s office. I explained that my employer’s assistant was well aware of what I had been doing. He also pointed out that he and his brother knew Larry Sewell (employer at the time) very well. I found it no coincidence that I lost my job soon after that.THE POLICE KNOCKING ON MY DOOR The same exact day following the golf cart incident, I was stopped by Beverly Crafts as I proceeded to go into the clubhouse to follow a neighbor (Pam Billichuk). She told me that I could not come in. I told her that I could and I did go into the clubhouse. The next thing I know, David Taylor pulls me to the side and tried to hint to me that he was my friend and that I should leave or Beverly would call the police. I gave him a wink and said sure you are my friend David. After all, who is in charge at LaVenezia, David Taylor or Beverly Crafts? I was peacefully handing out factual informational flyers and I believe that they did not want this information known to the other residents. I went back to my apartment to cook supper. Let me point out that we were paying rent at LaVenezia and paying for a hotel room at the same time because the apartment was uninhabitable. We could not cook dinner at the hotel so I proceeded to go to the Apartment 1825 and cook dinner when I heard a loud knock at my door. It was the police. They said they received a complaint that I was screaming across the clubhouse. Of course that was not true. I was told to remain silent and listen to what I could and could not do there. I patiently listened. I am legally allowed to send mail and also to stand outside of the clubhouse and hand out informational flyers to those who are willing to receive them. The second choice was not an option as I knew that David Taylor and Beverly Crafts would lie and call the police on me again. I thought this was funny…..after I received the riot act, one of the policemen asked me who he could call regarding mold in his home.MOM UNDERGOES UNNECESSARY SURGERYMy mother got very ill in Apartment 1825 after staying there for just a few hours. I had to fly to her home because the doctors could not understand what was wrong with her and thought she might be having heart trouble. She underwent a catheterization and the doctor did not find any blockage. Finally, she was placed on Prednisone an inhaler and an antibiotic. She was on her way to feeling better, but it was very stressful and scary.IF WE HAD ONLY KNOWN! In short, I am deeply disturbed that we rented from management and they were aware or shortly became very aware of mold issues. However, they continue to partially work on half of a building while the other half is still occupied. That is unheard of. There are dumpsters filled with wood and the smell of mold. There are apartments occupied that have not been remediated. People are getting sick and they don’t even know that it is caused by water intrusion leading to mold spores. Take a walk around your apartment complex and you will see for yourself. Doesn’t it seem strange to you that they are fixing the outside of the apartment buildings, but yet they are not tearing down the inside walls? We only saw the water damage in our apartment when management opened the wall and the ant infestation poured out. David Taylor had maintenance come in to work in apartment 212 while my husband was still moving. My husband had no idea the maintenance person was going to open the wall while he was in there. The man opened the wall and ants came pouring out onto the ceiling, the walls and the floors. My husband pulled out the video camera and taped it. That would explain the ant problem that we constantly had. Ants follow the water. Two movers from Two Men and a Truck were present that day and could not believe their eyes.MOVED OUT AND STILL FACING HEALTH ISSUESBeverly Crafts has called me crazy, she has also told me that I should move from Florida because there is mold everywhere, I have been threatened, I have lost jobs and my health. My husband has also lost his job. I have been harassed and threatened, however, I will continue with my freedom of speech and my purpose to make residents aware of this issue. I urge you to contact your Sarasota County Health Inspector, Bob Kallotte if you have been sick. The Sarasota County Health Department (Robert Kallotte) inspected our apartment at 212 in February 2003 and it is documented quite clearly that there was mold throughout the apartment due to water leaks. These records are public. Anyone can call and request any inspections done at LaVenezia. Don’t believe me. Make a call. See for yourself. WHY I CHOOSE TO SPEAK ABOUT THIS The purpose of this letter is to create awareness in your LaVenezia apartment complex. Take a look around and see the cracks on the buildings, wood all over the place in dumpsters, etc. You will also see and smell mold. Now look to see if that building is unoccupied. The building should be empty while they are doing this work and the residents should be notified. Why? Simply because those microscopic mold spores cannot be seen with the naked eye. I do not want anyone else to experience this unhealthy exposure and the domino affect. However, I already know people who have lived there and have been sick. This issue has become so important to me that I am joining other groups to volunteer my time to set guidelines through the Environmental Protection Agency and legislature. Don’t kid yourself. This issue should be very important to the health insurance industry. After all, there are so many people who go to the doctor repeatedly because they are sick and they are initially told that they have a cold. Our tax dollars pay for this. The elderly are at stake and what about the out-of-pocket costs to pet owners? Please email if you wish to discuss this. My email address is….Ginalewis@hotmail.com. My telephone number is 918-9475. I can email you pictures and documentation or I can meet with you regarding this. You should be concerned for your health and your family’s health. You should also be concerned for your neighbor’s health.Sincerely, Gina LewisCc: David TaylorBeverly CraftsRobert KallotteMost people think that if they have mold, they must be a horrible housekeeper. Let me assure you that I have videos of my apartment and it was very clean. People are afraid to bring this issue up as they feel they may be accused of being a dirty person. Mold has nothing to do with housekeeping. Mold is caused by poor construction and water intrusion. Water that is dormant for 72 hours turns into dirty water causing mold. It is the mold spores that cause people to be ill. I have heard so many people defend themselves by stating they are clean people. Mold does not discriminate. Mold should not be growing in your apartment. 1. By Rachael Myer Arizona Daily Wildcat,February 14, 2000 Toxic mold from a former Christopher City resident's apartment probably caused stomach, intestinal and balance problems, a UA risk management official said Thursday. Kathy Skiles, who lived at the University of Arizona's family housing complex last semester, said she suffered health problems from her apartment that caused her to leave the UA in January. Julia Rosen, health and safety officer for Risk Management, is scheduled to finish a report this week about the mold in Skiles' carpeting at Christopher City Apartment Complex, 3401 N. Columbus Blvd. The complex houses UA students with families as well as many international students. "I think it could have explained her symptoms," Rosen said about the mold. Water dripped onto Skiles' carpet, which was made out of cellulose and allowed toxic mold to develop, Rosen said. "I'm compiling the results of our samples, and I need to get that report to Residence Life," Rosen said. James Van Arsdel, Residence Life director, said he was aware the report was being written by Rosen, but did not have first-hand knowledge of its findings. "Obviously it concluded that a resident may have come into contact with something that could have some adverse effect on them," Van Arsdel said. "It's hard for me to say anything else until I know what Julie (Rosen) has to say." But Van Arsdel said he was unsure of the mold's effect on Skiles. "I don't know if we can absolutely say that is what caused someone's symptoms," Van Arsdel said about the carpet mold. Skiles' problems began about the time she moved into her apartment, 32-G, in August. She said the apartment had a strong odor that is unlike anything she has ever smelled before. Her problems started as a runny nose and a headache, but developed into stomach and intestinal problems, as well as difficulty balancing. "In the earlier (part of the) semester, I was like a dead person walking - I was so sick," Skiles said in a telephone interview from Pennsylvania. "Six months ago, I had all these dreams and these things going for me," Skiles said. She added that personal problems - as well as poor health - contributed to her decision to leave UA. Skiles said even though she has moved more than 2,300 miles from Christopher City, she is unable to get rid of the smell of her old apartment. "My furniture still smells like Christopher City," said Skiles, who was studying psychology and eventually wanted to earn a doctoral degree. "My mom has used Febreeze on my sofa more times than I can count." In late September, Skiles contacted Christopher City maintenance about her illness. They flushed the air filter with bleach, but the smell persisted and her eyes still burned. "All along the way, they tell me that every so often there are problems with the air handlers," Skiles said. Christopher City maintenance staff also cleaned her carpet, but Skiles said it made no difference. In October, UA Campus Health officials told Skiles not to return to her apartment and signed a doctor's note stating that she should move out. Chemical analysis stated she had elevated liver levels, Skiles said. Risk Management conducted a report about the apartment and found that mold had grown on Skiles' air handlers, Skiles said. Christopher City gave Skiles the use of a guest apartment but she did not want to live there because the apartment smelled similar to her previous place. "I was not being overly picky here - they were not in the greatest shape," Skiles said. Van Arsdel said Residence Life helped Skiles as much as possible. "As I understand, our staff went to great lengths to determine what kind of problem there was," he said. "I don't have any doubt our staff took appropriate actions in that case - that's not a concern of mine." Skiles moved in with a friend, Charla Carr - who also lived at Christopher City - for the rest of the semester because she said she was tired of being sick. But Carr had problems with her apartment, too. Carr's daughter, Kylee, developed asthma about three months after the family moved into their apartment. Kylee, who had no previous or family history of asthma problems, developed asthma from mold in their apartment, Carr said. Kylee, 5, first had cold-like symptoms, and then she had trouble breathing at times. "I had asthma and it hurts because my tummy was hurt very bad," Kylee Carr said last week. "I feel happy I don't have it anymore." The family moved to an apartment closer to campus on Dec. 1 because of Kylee's health problems. Rosen said Carr's apartment had a different type of mold and also less mold than Skiles' apartment. Risk Management wrote a report about Carr's apartment Nov. 29 after Kylee became ill. The report, written by Rosen, stated black stains on Carr's insulated water pipes "suggested mold growth." Rosen found a "nickel-sized" black stain on a bedroom ceiling as well as mold in the air conditioner's condensation pan. Rosen said this mold would not have been present in the air while Carr lived there and would not have been a problem. She added that thousands of molds grow naturally. "In my opinion, there was very little mold at her apartment," Rosen said about Carr's residence. Van Arsdel said he has not personally spoken with Carr, but that his office acted appropriately. "I'm not aware of anything that we should have done that we haven't done," Van Arsdel said. Carr, a single parent, said she moved to Christopher City Aug. 1 from Seattle to earn a degree and provide a better future for her daughter. "I'm a little bitter," Carr said. "I think I'm really upset because people aren't aware of it." Carr was present while Southwest Hazard Control Inc., a Tucson hazardous materials remediation agency, painted over the pipes and bleached them. Rosen said her agency has conducted four complaint-driven reports in the last five years regarding Christopher City and the UA has taken action on all of them. The two latest reports were for the Carr and Skiles apartments. Another report was about pesticides used to control roaches and one was about an herbicide used in gravel. Martha Castleberry, Christopher City community services manager, said her office has received about a dozen complaints about health problems from residents during the past five years. Castleberry said the most frequent complaint residents make is about allergies with cold-like symptoms. "People get allergies that are so different, that's why its so hard to find out what's wrong with them" Castleberry said. She said many Christopher City residents are unaware of the danger of living in their apartments. "I firmly believe all the apartments have problems whether the residents are aware about it or not," Skiles said. Carr said she wants a decision made about Christopher City. "Just do something - close it down or fix it," Carr said. Like being strangled Three weeks after moving in, something was very wrong. Each time I climbed the stairs to my apartment, I wheezed. Once inside, I often felt like someone was strangling me, cutting off my air supply. I went to see my doctor. He told me I had asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or possibly both. 1. In November, I noticed slimy black mold - the kind you might find in the bathroom - on the window sills. Management said this happened all the time during the winter months; it was just condensation. Clean it with bleach, they said. That I did. Then the migraines came. For the next three months I also had continual sinus infections and strep throat. I blamed it all on the gas heat. It had been years since I lived in anything other than all-electric. When friends who visited complained of headaches that went away after they left the apartment, I still didn’t put two and two together.The only bright spot was Peaches and Mango, who by this time had joined me and had the run of the apartment. They would sit on my shoulder when I was on the computer or sewing, and "cuddle" with me when I watched TV. They were my new friends, in a new apartment, and new town. They were helping me to adjust to the empty nest syndrome.Something black was growing on the wall around the vent in the living room. I found the same splattering in my bedroom.But I continued to feel poorly. Then in March 2001 I was rushed by ambulance to the hospital for intestinal bleeding. I thought I had a severe case of food poisoningBy now, something black was growing on the wall around the heating and air-conditioning vent in the living room. The splattering grew to two feet by two feet across the ceiling and adjacent walls. I found the same thing in my bedroom. 1. Maintenance cleaned the black mold off with bleach. It came back. They cleaned it again, and applied a paint with fungicide. It came back.The cycle continued, even after maintenance said they had cleaned the ductwork and sprayed it with a fungicide. The biologist who came to my apartment discovered three types of mold, later identified as alternaria and rhizopus, both potentially toxic (see 1. Your Guide to Molds), and torulopus, implicated in some types of infections. Before leaving, he recommended that I crack the windows to allow more air to circulate and contact the codes compliance office of the city of Williamsburg. The city sent their own inspector to investigate, and he found the origin of the mold. It was in the insulation - not in the ductwork - that surrounded the intake vent for the heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Re: Mold at Canyon Springs Apartment in Lynnwood Washington Posted by empathetic on 8/11/03 1. Good luck. I lost everything I owned and am now living in a pop-up camper, having to move every couple of weeks. The laws are designed to protect the interest of the land owners, not the tenants. I had much medical and lab results identifying mold and pesticides and still couldn't get any justice. Try the media, governer's office, mayor's office, congressman' office. Type one letter and cc to all others with notation at bottom of cc recepients. Report your attorney to the attorney disciplinary board. Document everything, but remember, I had 'proof' and it still wasn't enough. On 8/08/03, DSmith wrote: > I lived at Canyon Springs apartment unit, bldg.C for three > years, 1998-2001. In that three years my son and I > experience one asthamtic cold after another along with > other medical conditions that the doctor could not diganois > correctly, even my doctor was wondering why we were having > so many colds, he never tested us for mold alergy.> I finally gave a 30 day notice to vacate my lease one > month early when I discovered mold growing through the > walls and in the carpet of my apartment.> When I told the manager about the mold and asked her to > come look at the unit she stated she could not come down > because she (Lisa) was pregent. She sent the matinence man > (Dewitt)down to look at the unit who stated that there was > water steeping in becasue of the flashing on the exterior > of the bldg which needed sealed, and he actually stated to > me that I better get used to the mold because I live in the > NW. I call Snohomish county health department to come to > the apartment and they stated they could not come to my > complex because there was so many cases of mold in > Snohomish county, Washington state apartments they could > not hangle the load. I chose to vacate the apartment in > doing so I now owe a termination fee of $1400.00. I made > sure that I took pictures and a viedo of the apartment upon > vacating and it is clear in the viedo that there was mold > growing in my apartment.> I sent my viedo and a letter stating what I experienced to > Washington state public health department in Olympia the > director of Washington state viewed the viedo and he could > see evidence from the viedo that there was mold growing on > the walls and through the carpet in my unit. In his letter > he refered me to the Snohomish county Department of > Planning and Develeopment and I contacted the Department of > Planning and Develeopment who sent me a letter stating they > could not handle the case because I had vacated the > apartment, if I would have stayed in the apartment they > could have come out and tested the apartment at a charge, > $125.00.> I went to a lawyer who view the viedo and stated I had a > case, I was charged $3500.00 after I took a year developing > this case than my lawyer wanted more money, the lawyer > stated it could cost me up to $20,000.00 to take this case > to court.> I decided to go to small claims court and at that court > hearing I was told I did not have resonable cause to move. > Even with evidence of the condition of the apartment and > $5000.00 later Canyon Springs is allowed to let this > condition exsit. I know that there are other cases against > this complex from other tenants that have or are dealing > with with mold in there units. I hope writting and posting > this message on this chatboard I can be of help to others > who are experiencing this same problem and make a statment > to owners of these apartments that they need to fix the > problem and should not charge tenants a fee for chosing to > vacate due to health issue.> If you have any question about this complex or any other > complex in Washington State please email me and I will help > you along in your process of getting a case together on > this complex or any other complex in Snohomish county, I > did a lot of work on my own and have alot of information > that is for Washington state residents and the issue with > mold....I could find no offical department of Washington > state that would stand up for our tenant rights.........> DSmith at DSmith9826@aol.comPosted by: Joshua / 3:40 PMTHIS WEBSITE AND BLOG ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION. PHOTOS WILL BE ADDED SOON. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REPRODUCE, COPY OR OTHERWISE. BECOME INFORMED ON HAZARDS TO YOUR HEALTH LIKE MOLD. THERE IS A LOT OF INFO HERE ABOUT OUR PROBLEMS, AS WELL AS FACTS TO HELP YOU. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME : JOSHUA.P.ANGELL@ATT.NETMOLD IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM. ACCORDING TO THE EPA, THERE IS NO LEGAL AMOUNT OF MOLD IN A RENTAL DWELLING. TOXIC MOLD AND ALLERGENIC MOLDS IN LARGE AMOUNTS ARE HARMFUL TO YOUR HEALTH. Posted by: Joshua / 3:33 PMFeb. 14, 2004Dawn,After writing the email that we have printed out and place in the rent $$ deposit box, we continued to do research about mildews and molds. We have printed out for you our findings, which differ very much from what we have been told about what is going on in our apartment, as well as what was going on in apartment #1007, which we moved out of due to mildew/mold problems caused by a faulty AC unit.We no longer wish to live in such conditions. We are asking to be released from our lease, without penalty, so that we may begin looking for a new place to live. Please type out a release from our lease contract. Of course, we will continue to live here until we have found a new place, but will give ample notice to you once we do find a new place to live.As you may or may not be aware, Joshua is in the healthcare field, as well as his credentials and degrees. We believe that our apartment is unhealthy, do to our repeated headaches, dizziness, and nausea sensations. We have done extensive research into other people who have had the same problems in apartment dwellings, and due to our health issues(nausea, dizziness, headaches, breathing problems, sinus infections, chronic fatigue), and to our research, among problems with accusations from the maintenance staff, accusations from the management, and issues regarding noise levels, and being blocked in by other tenant’s cars, we believe it would be best for us to find a new place to live. All of these problems have made this living situation very unpleasant. We hope that you will respect our decision in this matter. Please provide us with a typed and signed letter releasing us from our apartment. We would also like to have you write in that letter the amount of rents that we have paid, and the dates that the rent was paid on, (for our protection so that we may have documentation of our payments, other than our cashed checks and banking statements). If you do not wish to write this in your letter of release to us, copies of rent receipts (including receipts from our stay in apartment #1007), will suffice.We are enclosing a verification letter, from the ACORN Housing Corporation, where we will begin the process of buying a place to live. We have pre-filled the letter out for you, and enclosed a copy. We are asking that you please fill it out and sign the form, and fax it back to us at1-512-331-5852. Please also staple a copy of this form to our letter of release, so that we will have a non-faxed copy. Please place all of this in a sealed envelope and leave it at our entryway.We appreciate your cooperation in this matter, and wish you and Mc Neil House the very best in your future endeavors.Tenants, apartment #6116280 Mc Neil DriveAustin, Texas 78729Posted by: Joshua / 3:22 PMFeb.21 2004From/Tenants #611 Joshua Angell DD,CNA,CHHA &James Wyckoff, Jr.To/ Mc Neil House ApartmentsWhat we want:Sanitizing of all personal items in Apartment #611/ and all personal property packed and moved to 5203 Heritage Village Drive, Austin.Since mold spores are microscopic, and nearly as light as air itself, they are easily drawn through heating and cooling system and the attached duct work. Spores also tend to lodge in the dirt within these systems as well as in the evaporator coils (the dirty ducts provide all the needed food sources and moisture for mold to grow). Therefore, all personal items will be packed and cleaned outside of the building.THE SPECIALISTS WILL BE PICKED BY THE TENANT’S.VERIFY MOLD/POLLUTION INSURANCENearly all contractor”s insurance policies have an exclusion relating to mold. Your contractor should provide proof of coverage with either an endorsement to his/her policy specifically stating mold remediation or a separate pollution insurance policy. Any remediation contractor properly trained and insured will be glad to provide you with this information. PREVENTION OF CROSS CONTAMINATIONSince mold spores (including molds that are not Toxic Black Mold) are microscopic and very light, attempted clean-up activities may actually spread the contamination while the contractor is trying to remove the mold spores. Containment boxes will be erected with negative pressure (i.e. a vacuum type environment) so that any contaminants will be drawn into the HEPA filtration, and not spread on the tenant’s property..HEPA FILTRATION High Efficiency Particle Arrestors (HEPA) filtering units will also be employed along with the containment boxes. These filtration units should be allowed to operate during cleaning or as suggested by the mold expert, as well as AT LEAST 72-120 hours after all remediation and final clean-up is complete, at the request of the tenants. Do not assume that your filtration is a true HEPA filtering device unless it is certified as true HEPA.DETAILED CLEANINGTenant’s property will be cleaned meticulously since microorganisms and spores thrive in dust and dirt. The property will all be cleaned thoroughly. Items such as the couch, love seat, pillows, waterbed mattress, box spring, etc. can not be cleaned and need to be removed and destroyed. (These items will be replaced at a cost to Mc Neil House)In addition to any items that can not be cleaned (as determined by the mold expert, Mc Neil House will pay for the tenants large air purifier@ $ 39.99 (that needs to be destroyed), as well as three wall socket air purifier units@ $19.95 each (that need to be destroyed).Professionally sanitize all of the tenants personal property and home furnishings that have been inside the apartment, and pack, box, and place into containers to be delivered to the Tenant’s new address, 5203 Heritage Village Drive, Austin Texas. (At the cost of Mc Neil House). The containers will be tested by a mold inspector (at the cost of Mc Neil House), and the results must be approved by the Tenant’s before being delivered.Since cleaning and packing will take time, Mc Neil House will pay for a hotel stay while it is being done, and must be a hotel that allows pets.In addition to this, since future health issues may occur, and because of the aggravation and inconvience of moving twice, soon to be three times, after our numerous complaints of mold in #1007 and #611 for Mc Neil House’s attempts to cover evidence of mold with white spray paint and having unqualified persons to diagnose the problems telling us it was nothing. (So we had a Certified Qualified individual inspect our dwelling confirming we had a serious mold infestation that occurred before us moving in and continues to grow due to improper remediation.) Thus, making it worse, we have had to live in these conditions and have recurrent sinus infections, headaches, dizziness, noise level problems, being blocked in by cars, etc., Mc Neil House will refund all rent monies paid while at Apartment #611. If this is agreed to the tenants will not seek rent monies and damages from Apartment #1007.Mc Neil House/ Name & Title: _________________ DATE __________________FINAL SAMPLING OF PERSONAL PROPERTYSampling via various methods (cultures, air samples, swab samples, etc.) will be done. Since spores are microscopic, the only way to verify and document that the proper cleaning has been completed successfully is to have sampling done by an independent 3rd party. An independent 3rd party, trained in mold remediation and sampling, will take the samples AND interpret the results.(To be approved by the Tenants). Samples should be taken aggressively. A reference sample will also be taken of outside conditions for analysis and comparison. NOTE: Final sampling will not be considered until all visible dirt and dust has been removed and professionally sanitized on all of the personal property. It is impossible to remove 100% of all contaminants from surfaces, but dusty and dirty conditions will not be sufficient. The goal of final sampling is to make the tenant’s comfortable with moving their property into their new home, by providing a report that the items have been cleaned successfully.RECONSTRUCTION/DEMOLITIONAny reconstruction or demolition of the apartment will not begin until all of the Tenants property has been professionally sanitized and moved to 5203 Heritage Village Drive Austin ,Texas.(at a cost to Mc Neil House) CONTRACTOR/ Mold Expert VERIFICATIONI verify that each of the above steps, and any other necessary steps, have been completed as noted above. I verify that my results are accurate, and I have no affiliation with Mc Neil House Apts., other than that is who is paying for my services. As of this date , ______________, I have completed each of the above steps and the final samples and final results have been collected and approved by an independent 3rd party trained in proper sampling protocol and I verify that all samples have been handled following the proper chain-of-custody.Certified Mold Remediation Expert / Name _________________ DATE __________________WITNESSED BY / Tenant : _________________ DATE __________________WITNESSED BY / Tenant : _________________ DATE __________________WITNESSED BY /Mc Neil House/ Name & Title: _________________ DATE __________________WITNESSED BY /Mc Neil House/ Name & Title: _________________ DATE __________________Mc Neil House:I Understand that:During and after removal or remediation of the mold, it may be necessary(as determined by the mold expert) to conduct sampling to determine if sanitizing has been successful. (This will be performed at a cost to Mc Neil House.)Mc Neil House/ Name & Title: _________________ DATE __________________Professionally sanitize all of the tenants personal property and home furnishings that have been inside the apartment, and pack, box, and place into containers to be delivered to the Tenant’s new address, 5203 Heritage Village Drive, Austin Texas. (At the cost of Mc Neil House). The containers will be tested by a mold inspector, and the results must be approved by the Tenant’s before being delivered.I understand that all personal property will be cleaned and sanitized, packed and boxed and delivered to 5203 Heritage Village Drive, Austin, at a cost to Mc Neil House.Mc Neil House/ Name & Title: _________________ DATE __________________Agreement Not To Publicize Problems:If this contract is agreed to in full form, the Tenant’s agree not to publicize that they have ever had a problem in any sort or fashion, with Mc Neil House Apartments.If this contract is not agreed to by Mc Neil House, both tenants maintain the right of free speech and may publicize any issues they have had while living at Mc Neil House, in any way shape or form(i.e. over 100 pictures ,samples, statements, detailed notes of all requests, copies of letters sent and given, professional mold expert documentation, a can of KILZ spray paint left behind on the day the vents were to be cleaned, etc. ).Mc Neil House/ Tenant: _________________ DATE __________________Mc Neil House/ Tenant: _________________ DATE __________________WITNESSED BY /Mc Neil House/ Name & Title: _________________ DATE __________________MC NEIL HOUSE MUST RESPOND WITHIN THREE BUSINESS DAYS, IN WRITING.Posted by: Joshua / 3:22 PMQ. If mold is present in the walls of home when it is being built will the mold go away after the walls are sealed up as long as no water enters that wall area?1. A. No, mold does not "go away" after walls of a new home are sealed. If mold spores and mold growth are denied access to current moisture, they will simply go dormant, waiting for future water from high humidity [above 60%] or future roof leaks, plumbing leaks, etc. Even the smell of dormant mold can make some people sick. Mold needs to be removed from all new home timbers and building materials, and then the mold decontaminated area needs to be sprayed with two wet spray coatings of Coverage Plus mold fungicide and Tim-bor antimicrobial coating. 1. Exposure to mold is not healthy for anyone but the following individuals are at a higher risk for adverse heath effects: infants, children, elderly, immune compromised patients, pregnant women, and individuals with existing respiratory conditions. When inhaled, even in small amounts, mold can cause a wide range of health problems including respiratory problems (wheezing), nasal and sinus congestion, watery and red eyes, nose and throat irritation, skin irritation, aches and pains, fevers, and in some cases even death.A person who ingests or inhales a large number of spores may suffer adverse health effects.1. What health effects can be caused by exposure to mold?Exposure to any mold could cause health effects (e.g., allergic symptoms such as watery eyes, a runny nose, sneezing, nasal congestion, itching, coughing, wheezing, difficulty breathing, headache and fatigue) under the right conditions. Similarly, the same amount of mold may cause health effects in one person, but not in another, because some people are more sensitive to molds than others. These include:infants and children elderly persons immune compromised patients (i.e., people with HIV infection, cancer, liver disease, etc., or who are under-going chemotherapy) individuals with existing respiratory conditions, such as allergies and asthma. Should I be concerned about mold in my home?When airborne mold spores are present in large numbers, they can cause skin irritation, allergic reactions, asthma episodes, infections and other respiratory problems for people. Exposure to high spore levels can cause the development of an allergy to the mold. Mold also can cause structural damage to your home.Can my home be tested for mold?1. Testing for molds is very difficult and expensive. Homeowners must hire a contractor to test their homes. Even if testing is done, no standards exist to judge what are acceptable amounts of mold. Testing cannot determine whether health effects will occur. Mold is normally found outdoors and counts fluctuate from day to day depending on the season. Due to the uncertainties associated with testing for molds, it is not recommended in most cases. If you can see or smell mold, testing is usually not necessary. It needs to be cleaned up.Common symptoms of exposure to mold range from the following: Headache, fatigue, shortness of breath. Sinus congestion, coughing and sneezing.Eye, nose, throat and skin irritation. Dizziness and nausea. .Not everyone has the same sensitivity to mold so it is possible for one person to experience discomfort while others living in the home to have no symptoms whatsoever. Individuals at the greatest risk include: Allergy and asthma sufferers. People with respiratory disease. People with compromised immune systems. Contact lens wearers. If mold in your home is the source of these issues, you will find that your health improves if you are away from your home for an extended period of time. Common symptoms of exposure to mold range from the following: Headache, fatigue, shortness of breath. Sinus congestion, coughing and sneezing. Eye, nose, throat and skin irritation. Dizziness and nausea. Why are we concerned about mold? Small amounts of mold growth in workplaces or homes (such as mildew on a shower curtain) or workplaces are not a major concern, but no mold should be permitted to grow and multiply indoors. When molds are present in large quantities, they may cause nuisance odors and health problems for some people. Mold can damage building materials, finishes and home furnishings. Some molds can cause structural damage to wood.How do molds affect people? Most people will have no reaction at all when exposed to molds. Allergic reactions, similar to common pollen or animal allergies, are the most common health effects for individuals sensitive to molds. Flu-like symptoms and skin rash may occur. Molds may also aggravate asthma. Fungal infections from building-associated molds may occur in people with serious immune disease but this is very rare. Who is affected by exposure to mold? For those who are affected by mold exposure, there can be a wide variation in how they react. People who may be affected more severely and quickly than others include:infants and children elderly people pregnant women individuals with respiratory conditions or allergies and asthma persons with weakened immune systems (for example, people with HIV infection, chemotherapy patients, or organ or bone marrow transplant recipients, autoimmune diseases.) Molds produce tiny spores to reproduce. Mold spores waft through the indoor and outdoor air continually. When mold spores land on a damp spot indoors, they may begin growing and digesting whatever they are growing on in order to survive. There are molds that can grow on wood, paper, carpet, and foods. When excessive moisture or water accumulates indoors, mold growth will often occur, particularly if the moisture problem remains undiscovered or un-addressed. There is no practical way to eliminate all mold and mold spores in the indoor environment; the way to control indoor mold growth is to control moisture.1. The key to mold control is moisture control. It is important to dry water damaged areas and items within 24-48 hours to prevent mold growth. If mold is a problem in your home, clean up the mold and get rid of the excess water or moisture. Fix leaky plumbing or other sources of water. Wash mold off hard surfaces with detergent and water, and dry completely. Absorbent materials (such as ceiling tiles & carpet) that become moldy may have to be replaced.NOTE: There are laws against endangerment of your health. The more people that know about the problem, the less likely the owner/manager is to continue endangering your health or to take illegal actions against you.Going to court is likely to take too long to keep you from further health problems, such as acquiring a life-long lung disease due to the mold. There are currently no legal limits on the amounts or types of mold in occupied buildings.1. If the owner/manager fails to quickly eliminate the mold problem, then you should do the following before the apartment owner/manager has a chance to cover-up the mold:Some molds that propagate indoors may, under some conditions, produce mycotoxins that can adversely affect living cells and organisms by a variety of mechanisms. Adverse effects of molds and mycotoxins have been recognized for centuries following ingestion of contaminated foods. Occupational diseases are also recognized in association with inhalation exposure to fungi, bacteria, and other organic matter, usually in industrial or agricultural settings. Molds growing indoors are believed by some to cause building-related symptoms. Despite a voluminous literature on the subject, the causal association remains weak and unproven, particularly with respect to causation by mycotoxins. One mold in particular, Stachybotrys chartarum, is blamed for a diverse array of maladies when it is found indoors. Despite its well-known ability to produce mycotoxins under appropriate growth conditions, years of intensive study have failed to establish exposure to S. chartarum in home, school, or office environments as a cause of adverse human health effects. Levels of exposure in the indoor environment, dose-response data in animals, and dose-rate considerations suggest that delivery by the inhalation route of a toxic dose of mycotoxins in the indoor environment is highly unlikely at best, even for the hypothetically most vulnerable subpopulations. Normal building materials and furnishings provide ample nutrition for many species of molds, but they can grow and amplify indoors only when there is an adequate supply of moisture. Where mold grows indoors there is an inappropriate source of water that must be corrected before remediation of the mold colonization can succeed. Mold growth in the home, school, or office environment should not be tolerated because mold physically destroys the building materials on which it grows, mold growth is unsightly and may produce offensive odors, and mold is likely to sensitize and produce allergic responses in allergic individuals.Molds and other fungi may adversely affect human health through three processes: 1) allergy; 2) infection; and 3) toxicity. One can estimate that about 10% of the population has allergic antibodies to fungal antigens. Only half of these, or 5%, would be expected to show clinical illness. Furthermore, outdoor molds are generally more abundant and important in airway allergic disease than indoor molds — leaving the latter with an important, but minor overall role in allergic airway disease. Allergic responses are most commonly experienced as allergic asthma or allergic rhinitis ("hay fever"). A rare, but much more serious immune-related condition, hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP), may follow exposure (usually occupational) to very high concentrations of fungal (and other microbial) proteins. Some molds have been known to produce toxins that are harmful to animals and humans when ingested, inhaled or in contact with the skin. The molds that produce toxins are known as toxigenic molds. The earliest known toxigenic molds, primarily Claviceps purpurea, produce the substance ergot. The ergot molds infect rye, grains and other grasses. Ingestion of ergot contaminated rye or other cereals causes ergotism. There are two types of ergotism recognized clinically: gangrenous and convulsive. Gangrenous ergotism affects the extremities as well as causes gastrointestinal symptoms. Convulsive ergotism affects the nerve system causing brain and spinal lesions which can lead to death or permanent mental impairment.Many molds in addition to ergot molds produce secondary toxic metabolites, such as alkaloids, cyclopeptides, and coumarins. Metabolites that can produce adverse health effects (mycotoxicoses) in animals and humans are collectively known as mycotoxins. The latest World Health Organization (WHO) publication on mycotoxins, available in 1990, indicated that there are more than 200 mycotoxins produced by a variety of common molds. Historically, mycotoxins are a problem to farmers and food industries and in Eastern European and third world countries. However, many toxigenic molds, such as Stachybotrys chartarum (also known as Stachybotrys atra) and species of Aspergillus and Penicillium, have been found to infest buildings with known indoor air and building-related problems.In addition to mycotoxins, volatile organic compounds (moldy odors) released from actively growing molds may also pose a health risk.What are the health effects of mycotoxins?Mycotoxins may cause a variety of short-term as well as long-term adverse health effects. This ranges from immediate toxic response and immune-suppression to the potential long-term carcinogenic effect. Symptoms due to mycotoxins or toxins-containing airborne spores (particularly those of Stachybotrys chartarum) include dermatitis, recurring cold and flu-like symptoms, burning sore throat, headaches and excessive fatigue, diarrhea, and impaired or altered immune function. The ability of the body to fight off infectious diseases may be weakened resulting in opportunistic infections. Certain mycotoxins, such as zearalenone (F2 toxin), can cause infertility and stillbirths in pigs. Because these symptoms may also be caused by many other diseases, misdiagnoses of mycotoxin exposures are common. There are very few physicians with the experience or expertise in correctly diagnosing mycotoxin exposures or mycotoxicoses. Occupational or building-related exposures to mycotoxins through inhalation are slowly being recognized as a major indoor air quality problem. Generally, removal of causative agents is necessary. Treatment for symptomatic mycotoxicosis may be required. If exposure to molds and mycotoxins is suspected, consult an occupational health professional. Fungal growth in an indoor environment is often related to the availability of nutrient, water/moisture, proper temperature range and the presence of inoculum (often fungal spores). The key factor is water/moisture. Moisture control to reduce condensation and free water will prevent or control fungal growth.In an environment where water/moisture-related problems often lead to fungal growth, rapid response to the problem is the key solution. Mold-infested materials should be removed and replaced (see also below). Materials that can not be replaced should be decontaminated or treated. Consult an environmental microbiologist for such decontamination treatments. Proper project design and procedures are an important factor in a successful decontamination project. Biocidal application may be necessary under certain conditions. More importantly, before any decontamination is performed, water and excessive moisture must be controlled and eliminated.Most importantly, fungal infestation may be directly correlated with building operation and maintenance. Spores of Stachybotrys chartarum are wet and slimy. They do not easily become airborne. Their dissemination is likely through insects (such as cockroaches), rodents, water incursion or air stream. Without the assistance of insects, rodents and free running water, the likelihood of Stachybotrys chartarum spreading from one location to the other requires the disturbance of a dried slimy spore mass. Spores and hyphae of S. chartarum have been detected in air samples. Any detection of S. chartarum spores in indoor air should be considered significant.To prevent or eliminate fungal infestation in buildings, the following procedures should be observed:1. Heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems must be properly filtered and maintained. 2. Water intrusion must be taken care of within 24 hours. Never overlook small leaks. Ignored small leaks are much more problematic than a properly handled major flood. For additional information on the proper handling of water intrusion, please see Enviros Vol. 3, No. 8 (August 1993); back issues are available. 3. Proper handling and storage of food to keep insects and rodents away from buildings. 4. In a warm, humid climate, a building engineer should be consulted to make sure that a moisture barrier is properly installed and that no condensation will occur. 5. Install dehumidifiers in areas where humidity is constantly high. Keep relative humidity between 20% and 50%. 6. If large areas of contamination are determined, asbestos-like remediation procedures are necessary. Consult an industrial hygienist with experience in asbestos remediation procedures, as well as in biohazard remediation. If a building is known to have extensive fungal growth, consult an industrial hygienist with training and experience in microbiological control. Human and environmental protection must be observed when removing and handling fungal contaminated materials.A case of attempted suicide with purified aflatoxin [B.sub.1] is reported to have occurred in 1966 in the USA. A young woman ingested a total of 5.5 mg of aflatoxin [B.sub.1] over 2 days and, 6 months later, a total of 35 mg over 2 weeks. Following the first exposure, she was admitted to hospital with a transient, nonpruritic, macular rash, nausea and headache; the second time she reported nausea only. 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.I've seen people become deathly ill," Mr. Krell said.Which hardly means that mold is harmless. "We know that there are a range of health effects related to mold exposure," said Dr. Maida P. Galvez"We know that families with strong histories of allergic diseases are more susceptible to these exposures," Dr. Galvez said, "that mold can exacerbate these conditions." At a minimum, mold can cause eye, ear, nose and throat irritation, as well as coughing and wheezing — sometimes severe and unrelenting.Still, mold can be deadly. Dr. Jordan Fink, a professor in the allergy and immunology division of the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, said mold can cause hypersensitivity pneumonitis, resulting in progressive lung impairment. "There have been fatal cases of hypersensitivity pneumonitis," he said, "because of the inflammation and scarring of pulmonary tissue." Mold thrives on moisture. And, as Mr. Garcia emphasized, remediation requires elimination of the source. "Whatever caused water damage must be fixed," he said. "Realistically, that should be done before the cleaning, because the mold will come back." Better yet, leaks should be eliminated before mold ever takes root.If mold does become visible — a big if, given that it also thrives in a building's dark recesses — a cleanup is in order.The Old Testament, while genteelly referring to mold as mildew, offers a harsh prescription. Speaking of "the priest," Leviticus 14, says: "If mildew has spread on the walls, he is to order that the contaminated stones be torn out." If mildew reappears, it says, "the house must be torn down."Mold releases microscopic fungal spores that, if inhaled, can trigger allergy and asthma symptoms in sensitive people, Reynolds explains. It can also lead to sinus infections.Mold in the La Venezia ApartmentsLet me begin by introducing myself. My name is Gina Lewis and I moved into the apartments at La Venezia in November 2002. We moved out in April 2003. My husband, 3-year-old son and I were very impressed with the spacious apartment we moved into (Apartment 212). We wanted to make it homey and nice. We were welcomed with open arms and given a checklist. We were asked to write down any problems we thought there were with the apartment. We noticed a stain on the wall in our master bedroom and reported it to the maintenance person, Chris, (no longer with La Venezia). At first we thought we might have spilled coffee or tea on the wall and my husband painted over it. The stain reappeared after it had rained. We called maintenance again, but the problem was never fixed. At the time we rented the apartment, the complex was not owned by LaVenezia, L.L.C. It was operated and managed by Epoch Management.FEELING SICK around December 2002My son began getting cold symptoms. We started bringing him to the doctor and he was placed on antibiotic after antibiotic. He had diarrhea, green mucous discharge constantly running from his nose, temperatures, ear infections, etc. I remember one day driving in the car and he was on antibiotics and he tried to blow that discharge from his nose, but it would not come out. He said, “Mommy, look, I can breathe!” I thought, thank God. Hopefully this will be the last of it. However, it just kept continuing. We were constantly called to take my son out of daycare because of his high temperatures and vomiting. Let me state that his symptoms began well before he was placed in daycare. I was constantly out of work because of respiratory problems, bronchitis, ear infections, diarrhea, headaches, urinary tract infections, yeast infections, etc. Someone would ask me a question and a minute later I would forget the question or I would begin slurring my words. I was so forgetful. I never had any problems with asthma or my breathing before moving into La Venezia. We moved out of La Venezia in April, however I am still sick. I keep getting ear infections, my body constantly aches like the flu, I am exhausted all the time and I am going to be seen by a specialist shortly. The doctors are perplexed and my family is very worried about me. This has been a constant battle and I just want my health back so that I can enjoy time with my family. After work, I just go home and go to sleep. I sleep the weekends away and I am constantly taking Advil or placed on antibiotics. My husband was very ill while living at LaVenezia also. He also had breathing problems, diarrhea, headaches, etc.THE NEW OWNER AND HIS CONCERN FOR RESIDENTSIn January, I had spoken to David Taylor and he told me that he was not aware of the problems because he had just bought LaVenezia in January. He offered to move us into another apartment building after many letters and he was very cooperative when the health inspector came to point out the mold, the roof leaks, the cracks, poor paint jobs, window leaks, etc. He was somewhat apprehensive, but moved us into another building. We were also not obligated to the Lease Agreement from that day forward as I knew a little about Florida Law and the responsibility of the owner. Even though the health inspector showed him the problems and the mold in apartment 212, David Taylor would not admit to mold. He would only admit to water or plumbing problems. I find that quite peculiar, as water damage is the cause of mold.When Bob Kallotte (the health inspector) mentioned court to David Taylor and made a comment on David Taylor’s Rolex watch, David Taylor said that he wouldn’t be wearing that Rolex watch in court if he had to go. David Taylor also said to me that he had to worry about the buildings because of the next rainstorm. I find it strange that Florida has had an unusual amount of rain this season. Have you noticed any water intrusion in your apartment? The maintenance person, Ryan Berry came into our second apartment to look at the air conditioning unit and the window leaks we were complaining about. He said to my husband that he did not understand why we had window leaks as they had cleaned those windows up real good. Did you know that painting over mold or putting sealer over the mold only masks the problem? In fact, David Taylor sent us a letter from an “inspector”, Tony Posa. This “inspector” did inspections for hotels, yet we received an inspection from this man stating that there was no mold in our apartment. I thought it was a coincidence that the maintenance manager was hired by David Taylor and previously worked in the hotel industry. I found it interesting that we received a notice on our door from management saying they were doing air quality testing. What type of air quality testing? How thorough? How objective? Was it because they were looking out for our health or was it an attempt to make us believe that there were no mold problems with inadequate testing? Have you noticed the late night commercials regarding renting apartments at LaVenezia? They show the beautiful property, but they don’t show any remediation.DANGER - APARTMENT NUMBER TWO AND THE THREATS BEGINIt was not long before David Taylor and Beverly Crafts changed their attitude to nasty. I was approached by Beverly Crafts and David Taylor in a golf cart outside of my apartment (1875) before a gathering at the clubhouse. They were trying to intimidate me and I was in the car with my mother and son. David Taylor asked why I was still living there and why I was smoking if my mother had COPD. I responded by telling him that I was not smoking inside the car and I would not subject my mother and son to the smoke. Also take into consideration that when we did smoke, we went outside onto the lanai. We never smoked in the apartment. Of course he tried to blame our health issues on smoking.I found it ironic that he would bring this hypocrisy up in front of Beverly Crafts who does smoke. I also know the risks of smoking and health, but I have never heard that smoking contributes to memory loss, urinary tract infections and yeast infections. I chose to put a cigarette in my mouth and light it, however I did not choose to breathe in mold spores, I was forced without my knowledge. I also wonder how my son and mother (both nonsmokers) could develop breathing problems and a list of medical issues. Beverly Crafts called me crazy. At that time, I suggested to Mr. Taylor, if he wanted us to move he could waive our cost of rent and we would immediately move out. He did not respond well to that. In fact, he said, “It’s all about money with you isn’t it Gina?” I say to myself, all about money? Here we were paying for a hotel room, throwing away all of our belongings because of mold contamination, out of money, robbed of our health, out of health insurance, a child constantly having diarrhea and a green discharge from his nose, etc. and here is a man who has a wife and son highly allergic to mold.I wrote David Taylor a letter offering him and his family to live in Apartment 1825 while we were staying at the hotel. Of course he did not subject his family to the mold spores. I don’t think the man cared if we were homeless and sick or not. All he could think of was his business and his money. He then asked if my employer was aware that I was faxing letters to LaVenezia’s office. I explained that my employer’s assistant was well aware of what I had been doing. He also pointed out that he and his brother knew Larry Sewell (employer at the time) very well. I found it no coincidence that I lost my job soon after that.THE POLICE KNOCKING ON MY DOOR The same exact day following the golf cart incident, I was stopped by Beverly Crafts as I proceeded to go into the clubhouse to follow a neighbor (Pam Billichuk). She told me that I could not come in. I told her that I could and I did go into the clubhouse. The next thing I know, David Taylor pulls me to the side and tried to hint to me that he was my friend and that I should leave or Beverly would call the police. I gave him a wink and said sure you are my friend David. After all, who is in charge at LaVenezia, David Taylor or Beverly Crafts? I was peacefully handing out factual informational flyers and I believe that they did not want this information known to the other residents. I went back to my apartment to cook supper. Let me point out that we were paying rent at LaVenezia and paying for a hotel room at the same time because the apartment was uninhabitable. We could not cook dinner at the hotel so I proceeded to go to the Apartment 1825 and cook dinner when I heard a loud knock at my door. It was the police. They said they received a complaint that I was screaming across the clubhouse. Of course that was not true. I was told to remain silent and listen to what I could and could not do there. I patiently listened. I am legally allowed to send mail and also to stand outside of the clubhouse and hand out informational flyers to those who are willing to receive them. The second choice was not an option as I knew that David Taylor and Beverly Crafts would lie and call the police on me again. I thought this was funny…..after I received the riot act, one of the policemen asked me who he could call regarding mold in his home.MOM UNDERGOES UNNECESSARY SURGERYMy mother got very ill in Apartment 1825 after staying there for just a few hours. I had to fly to her home because the doctors could not understand what was wrong with her and thought she might be having heart trouble. She underwent a catheterization and the doctor did not find any blockage. Finally, she was placed on Prednisone an inhaler and an antibiotic. She was on her way to feeling better, but it was very stressful and scary.IF WE HAD ONLY KNOWN! In short, I am deeply disturbed that we rented from management and they were aware or shortly became very aware of mold issues. However, they continue to partially work on half of a building while the other half is still occupied. That is unheard of. There are dumpsters filled with wood and the smell of mold. There are apartments occupied that have not been remediated. People are getting sick and they don’t even know that it is caused by water intrusion leading to mold spores. Take a walk around your apartment complex and you will see for yourself. Doesn’t it seem strange to you that they are fixing the outside of the apartment buildings, but yet they are not tearing down the inside walls? We only saw the water damage in our apartment when management opened the wall and the ant infestation poured out. David Taylor had maintenance come in to work in apartment 212 while my husband was still moving. My husband had no idea the maintenance person was going to open the wall while he was in there. The man opened the wall and ants came pouring out onto the ceiling, the walls and the floors. My husband pulled out the video camera and taped it. That would explain the ant problem that we constantly had. Ants follow the water. Two movers from Two Men and a Truck were present that day and could not believe their eyes.MOVED OUT AND STILL FACING HEALTH ISSUESBeverly Crafts has called me crazy, she has also told me that I should move from Florida because there is mold everywhere, I have been threatened, I have lost jobs and my health. My husband has also lost his job. I have been harassed and threatened, however, I will continue with my freedom of speech and my purpose to make residents aware of this issue. I urge you to contact your Sarasota County Health Inspector, Bob Kallotte if you have been sick. The Sarasota County Health Department (Robert Kallotte) inspected our apartment at 212 in February 2003 and it is documented quite clearly that there was mold throughout the apartment due to water leaks. These records are public. Anyone can call and request any inspections done at LaVenezia. Don’t believe me. Make a call. See for yourself. WHY I CHOOSE TO SPEAK ABOUT THIS The purpose of this letter is to create awareness in your LaVenezia apartment complex. Take a look around and see the cracks on the buildings, wood all over the place in dumpsters, etc. You will also see and smell mold. Now look to see if that building is unoccupied. The building should be empty while they are doing this work and the residents should be notified. Why? Simply because those microscopic mold spores cannot be seen with the naked eye. I do not want anyone else to experience this unhealthy exposure and the domino affect. However, I already know people who have lived there and have been sick. This issue has become so important to me that I am joining other groups to volunteer my time to set guidelines through the Environmental Protection Agency and legislature. Don’t kid yourself. This issue should be very important to the health insurance industry. After all, there are so many people who go to the doctor repeatedly because they are sick and they are initially told that they have a cold. Our tax dollars pay for this. The elderly are at stake and what about the out-of-pocket costs to pet owners? Please email if you wish to discuss this. My email address is….Ginalewis@hotmail.com. My telephone number is 918-9475. I can email you pictures and documentation or I can meet with you regarding this. You should be concerned for your health and your family’s health. You should also be concerned for your neighbor’s health.Sincerely, Gina LewisCc: David TaylorBeverly CraftsRobert KallotteMost people think that if they have mold, they must be a horrible housekeeper. Let me assure you that I have videos of my apartment and it was very clean. People are afraid to bring this issue up as they feel they may be accused of being a dirty person. Mold has nothing to do with housekeeping. Mold is caused by poor construction and water intrusion. Water that is dormant for 72 hours turns into dirty water causing mold. It is the mold spores that cause people to be ill. I have heard so many people defend themselves by stating they are clean people. Mold does not discriminate. Mold should not be growing in your apartment. 1. By Rachael Myer Arizona Daily Wildcat,February 14, 2000 Toxic mold from a former Christopher City resident's apartment probably caused stomach, intestinal and balance problems, a UA risk management official said Thursday. Kathy Skiles, who lived at the University of Arizona's family housing complex last semester, said she suffered health problems from her apartment that caused her to leave the UA in January. Julia Rosen, health and safety officer for Risk Management, is scheduled to finish a report this week about the mold in Skiles' carpeting at Christopher City Apartment Complex, 3401 N. Columbus Blvd. The complex houses UA students with families as well as many international students. "I think it could have explained her symptoms," Rosen said about the mold. Water dripped onto Skiles' carpet, which was made out of cellulose and allowed toxic mold to develop, Rosen said. "I'm compiling the results of our samples, and I need to get that report to Residence Life," Rosen said. James Van Arsdel, Residence Life director, said he was aware the report was being written by Rosen, but did not have first-hand knowledge of its findings. "Obviously it concluded that a resident may have come into contact with something that could have some adverse effect on them," Van Arsdel said. "It's hard for me to say anything else until I know what Julie (Rosen) has to say." But Van Arsdel said he was unsure of the mold's effect on Skiles. "I don't know if we can absolutely say that is what caused someone's symptoms," Van Arsdel said about the carpet mold. Skiles' problems began about the time she moved into her apartment, 32-G, in August. She said the apartment had a strong odor that is unlike anything she has ever smelled before. Her problems started as a runny nose and a headache, but developed into stomach and intestinal problems, as well as difficulty balancing. "In the earlier (part of the) semester, I was like a dead person walking - I was so sick," Skiles said in a telephone interview from Pennsylvania. "Six months ago, I had all these dreams and these things going for me," Skiles said. She added that personal problems - as well as poor health - contributed to her decision to leave UA. Skiles said even though she has moved more than 2,300 miles from Christopher City, she is unable to get rid of the smell of her old apartment. "My furniture still smells like Christopher City," said Skiles, who was studying psychology and eventually wanted to earn a doctoral degree. "My mom has used Febreeze on my sofa more times than I can count." In late September, Skiles contacted Christopher City maintenance about her illness. They flushed the air filter with bleach, but the smell persisted and her eyes still burned. "All along the way, they tell me that every so often there are problems with the air handlers," Skiles said. Christopher City maintenance staff also cleaned her carpet, but Skiles said it made no difference. In October, UA Campus Health officials told Skiles not to return to her apartment and signed a doctor's note stating that she should move out. Chemical analysis stated she had elevated liver levels, Skiles said. Risk Management conducted a report about the apartment and found that mold had grown on Skiles' air handlers, Skiles said. Christopher City gave Skiles the use of a guest apartment but she did not want to live there because the apartment smelled similar to her previous place. "I was not being overly picky here - they were not in the greatest shape," Skiles said. Van Arsdel said Residence Life helped Skiles as much as possible. "As I understand, our staff went to great lengths to determine what kind of problem there was," he said. "I don't have any doubt our staff took appropriate actions in that case - that's not a concern of mine." Skiles moved in with a friend, Charla Carr - who also lived at Christopher City - for the rest of the semester because she said she was tired of being sick. But Carr had problems with her apartment, too. Carr's daughter, Kylee, developed asthma about three months after the family moved into their apartment. Kylee, who had no previous or family history of asthma problems, developed asthma from mold in their apartment, Carr said. Kylee, 5, first had cold-like symptoms, and then she had trouble breathing at times. "I had asthma and it hurts because my tummy was hurt very bad," Kylee Carr said last week. "I feel happy I don't have it anymore." The family moved to an apartment closer to campus on Dec. 1 because of Kylee's health problems. Rosen said Carr's apartment had a different type of mold and also less mold than Skiles' apartment. Risk Management wrote a report about Carr's apartment Nov. 29 after Kylee became ill. The report, written by Rosen, stated black stains on Carr's insulated water pipes "suggested mold growth." Rosen found a "nickel-sized" black stain on a bedroom ceiling as well as mold in the air conditioner's condensation pan. Rosen said this mold would not have been present in the air while Carr lived there and would not have been a problem. She added that thousands of molds grow naturally. "In my opinion, there was very little mold at her apartment," Rosen said about Carr's residence. Van Arsdel said he has not personally spoken with Carr, but that his office acted appropriately. "I'm not aware of anything that we should have done that we haven't done," Van Arsdel said. Carr, a single parent, said she moved to Christopher City Aug. 1 from Seattle to earn a degree and provide a better future for her daughter. "I'm a little bitter," Carr said. "I think I'm really upset because people aren't aware of it." Carr was present while Southwest Hazard Control Inc., a Tucson hazardous materials remediation agency, painted over the pipes and bleached them. Rosen said her agency has conducted four complaint-driven reports in the last five years regarding Christopher City and the UA has taken action on all of them. The two latest reports were for the Carr and Skiles apartments. Another report was about pesticides used to control roaches and one was about an herbicide used in gravel. Martha Castleberry, Christopher City community services manager, said her office has received about a dozen complaints about health problems from residents during the past five years. Castleberry said the most frequent complaint residents make is about allergies with cold-like symptoms. "People get allergies that are so different, that's why its so hard to find out what's wrong with them" Castleberry said. She said many Christopher City residents are unaware of the danger of living in their apartments. "I firmly believe all the apartments have problems whether the residents are aware about it or not," Skiles said. Carr said she wants a decision made about Christopher City. "Just do something - close it down or fix it," Carr said. Like being strangled Three weeks after moving in, something was very wrong. Each time I climbed the stairs to my apartment, I wheezed. Once inside, I often felt like someone was strangling me, cutting off my air supply. I went to see my doctor. He told me I had asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or possibly both. 1. In November, I noticed slimy black mold - the kind you might find in the bathroom - on the window sills. Management said this happened all the time during the winter months; it was just condensation. Clean it with bleach, they said. That I did. Then the migraines came. For the next three months I also had continual sinus infections and strep throat. I blamed it all on the gas heat. It had been years since I lived in anything other than all-electric. When friends who visited complained of headaches that went away after they left the apartment, I still didn’t put two and two together.The only bright spot was Peaches and Mango, who by this time had joined me and had the run of the apartment. They would sit on my shoulder when I was on the computer or sewing, and "cuddle" with me when I watched TV. They were my new friends, in a new apartment, and new town. They were helping me to adjust to the empty nest syndrome.Something black was growing on the wall around the vent in the living room. I found the same splattering in my bedroom.But I continued to feel poorly. Then in March 2001 I was rushed by ambulance to the hospital for intestinal bleeding. I thought I had a severe case of food poisoningBy now, something black was growing on the wall around the heating and air-conditioning vent in the living room. The splattering grew to two feet by two feet across the ceiling and adjacent walls. I found the same thing in my bedroom. 1. Maintenance cleaned the black mold off with bleach. It came back. They cleaned it again, and applied a paint with fungicide. It came back.The cycle continued, even after maintenance said they had cleaned the ductwork and sprayed it with a fungicide. The biologist who came to my apartment discovered three types of mold, later identified as alternaria and rhizopus, both potentially toxic (see 1. Your Guide to Molds), and torulopus, implicated in some types of infections. Before leaving, he recommended that I crack the windows to allow more air to circulate and contact the codes compliance office of the city of Williamsburg. The city sent their own inspector to investigate, and he found the origin of the mold. It was in the insulation - not in the ductwork - that surrounded the intake vent for the heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Re: Mold at Canyon Springs Apartment in Lynnwood Washington Posted by empathetic on 8/11/03 1. Good luck. I lost everything I owned and am now living in a pop-up camper, having to move every couple of weeks. The laws are designed to protect the interest of the land owners, not the tenants. I had much medical and lab results identifying mold and pesticides and still couldn't get any justice. Try the media, governer's office, mayor's office, congressman' office. Type one letter and cc to all others with notation at bottom of cc recepients. Report your attorney to the attorney disciplinary board. Document everything, but remember, I had 'proof' and it still wasn't enough. On 8/08/03, DSmith wrote: > I lived at Canyon Springs apartment unit, bldg.C for three > years, 1998-2001. In that three years my son and I > experience one asthamtic cold after another along with > other medical conditions that the doctor could not diganois > correctly, even my doctor was wondering why we were having > so many colds, he never tested us for mold alergy.> I finally gave a 30 day notice to vacate my lease one > month early when I discovered mold growing through the > walls and in the carpet of my apartment.> When I told the manager about the mold and asked her to > come look at the unit she stated she could not come down > because she (Lisa) was pregent. She sent the matinence man > (Dewitt)down to look at the unit who stated that there was > water steeping in becasue of the flashing on the exterior > of the bldg which needed sealed, and he actually stated to > me that I better get used to the mold because I live in the > NW. I call Snohomish county health department to come to > the apartment and they stated they could not come to my > complex because there was so many cases of mold in > Snohomish county, Washington state apartments they could > not hangle the load. I chose to vacate the apartment in > doing so I now owe a termination fee of $1400.00. I made > sure that I took pictures and a viedo of the apartment upon > vacating and it is clear in the viedo that there was mold > growing in my apartment.> I sent my viedo and a letter stating what I experienced to > Washington state public health department in Olympia the > director of Washington state viewed the viedo and he could > see evidence from the viedo that there was mold growing on > the walls and through the carpet in my unit. In his letter > he refered me to the Snohomish county Department of > Planning and Develeopment and I contacted the Department of > Planning and Develeopment who sent me a letter stating they > could not handle the case because I had vacated the > apartment, if I would have stayed in the apartment they > could have come out and tested the apartment at a charge, > $125.00.> I went to a lawyer who view the viedo and stated I had a > case, I was charged $3500.00 after I took a year developing > this case than my lawyer wanted more money, the lawyer > stated it could cost me up to $20,000.00 to take this case > to court.> I decided to go to small claims court and at that court > hearing I was told I did not have resonable cause to move. > Even with evidence of the condition of the apartment and > $5000.00 later Canyon Springs is allowed to let this > condition exsit. I know that there are other cases against > this complex from other tenants that have or are dealing > with with mold in there units. I hope writting and posting > this message on this chatboard I can be of help to others > who are experiencing this same problem and make a statment > to owners of these apartments that they need to fix the > problem and should not charge tenants a fee for chosing to > vacate due to health issue.> If you have any question about this complex or any other > complex in Washington State please email me and I will help > you along in your process of getting a case together on > this complex or any other complex in Snohomish county, I > did a lot of work on my own and have alot of information > that is for Washington state residents and the issue with > mold....I could find no offical department of Washington > state that would stand up for our tenant rights.........> DSmith at DSmith9826@aol.comPosted by: Joshua / 3:20 PM1. From: joshua.p.angell@att.netTo: info@mcneilhouse.comCc: joshua.p.angell@att.netSubject: vents, apt#611Date: Sat, 14 Feb 2004 00:03:15 +0000Dawn,Just wanted to let you know that the vent cleaning service did not show up today. It is now 5:30 PM. This was VERY inconvienent because we made it a point to leave and have the pets outside in the COLD garage. I checked both wireless phones and our home phone voicemail as well as the fax machine,... There wasn't a single message from Mc Neil House.(until 5pm at night!) I guess I just expected that you guys would have called and informed us that nobody was going to show. We'll have to get together on re-scheduling this. We only recieved a call by Steve in the LATE afternoon that it had been canceled due to RAIN.We are wondering, you had a crew fix the hole on the roof above our doorway. The other day when it was raining so hard it was leaking, still.Do you know when they were going to patch the enormous hole in the roof over our doorway? Not only is it very embarrassing for us to visitors, it drops pieces of junk down that we constantly are tracking inside and having to clean up.The day of that rain is the same day that we noticed that our refrigerator in the kitchen has sunk into the floor even more so than when we reported this on our initial move in. There must be a pretty serious leak above our apartment.Also, when we moved in, Reuban was supposed to fix the fireplace, so that you could have a fire in it. Here we are in mid-Feb. and it still has not been touched. You know, the apts. that have fireplaces are more $$$, but it is no good if you can't use it. We haven't had use of the fireplace since we moved in. Will there be a refund of the premium $ for the fireplace?On an additional note, the police no longer bother coming out to deal with the noise complaints. Last night, at about 3:30 am there was yelling and very loud music coming through the walls again. The music is so loud that the tenants do not even answer the doorbell to handle a complaint because they can't hear it. The authorities have stated that this is an issue to take up with the apartment management to be resolved. All they can do (if they bother to come out) is ask them to turn the noise down.Furthermore, the guys on the end are still blocking vehicles in. The towing company is in south Austin, so if you need to get out quickly, it is impossible. Often, Hospice will page that a patient needs to be seen at an odd hour, but you cannot leave due to being blocked in.It has been wet lately. To let you know, NO plants have been watered. We had a discussion with the neighbors that have a leaky garage. They have told us that you were telling them it was the flashing on the roof, and not due to plant watering, but rather due to the flashing. However, you were telling us it was DEFINATELY due to the watering of the plants, because it was identified to you by the roofers that worked over our doorway. We too wanted to question the roofers, but the spanish/english dictionary wasn't handy.Our relationship with the neighbors is now very good,(now that we have had the chance to discuss the truth), in fact they were over here last night. (many months of tension between tenants was very stressful, and as it turns out, there wasn't any problems between us, we only believed what we were being told by the management here. This does not make for a pleasant living situation. He (the neighbor) denies any mention of threats made to damage property, and said that that was a lie spun by McNeil house. Upon discussing the air quality and the "mildew" that we have reported about these buildings, we have found that we are not the only tenants with problems. Our health concerns are still on all of our minds. Headaches, dizziness and nausea in these buildings may be from that stuff infesting the walls(imagine 2 years of feeling sick, all the while being told the balck "mildew" wasn't anything to be worried over.)Our fridge is sinking through the floor, while the neighbors bathtub is sinking through the floor. Somewhere, there is a water leak. This is evident by the black fibers and growths behind all of the light sockets, and around the vents. We have taken some pictures of the problems, when they are developed we will share them with you, so that you can add them to our renter's file. It would be interesting to compare them to the complaints that we had in #1007. Have you found the documentation of all of our service calls and complaints for #1007 yet? We had asked you to see the file, but have never had the invitation.Hopefully, you have since resolved the problem for the new tenants in #1007.In the future, please be more considerate of our busy schedules for service cancellations.Thank you, tenants, #611Posted by: Joshua / 3:20 PMFeb. 17, 2004To:Mc Neil House Apts./Dawn Aiello(Apartments Manager)CC: undisclosed other personsDawn,We are in receipt of your documentation that you wish for us to sign. Your post-it note stated that we must sign and return the “Agreed Early Lease Termination And Move Out Date”, by Feb 18, or we will be assessed a termination fee of $1,078.65. We have consulted an attorney, and be advised that your wish to have us sign and return this form would constitute a settlement. We will not sign this form, due to the fact that we may be seeking damages from Mc Neil House (long term and short term health problems, sanitation fees of clothing, furniture, and personal items for mold spore removal, etc.). If we in fact signed this form, it would prevent us from filing a lawsuit and seeking damages. Therefore, we will not sign this document, but will, agree to be moved out by 11:59 pm on March 31, 2004. We will also agree to provide a statement from a doctor(Mc Neil House will pay in full any medical charges incurred at the time of service), due to the effects of the buildings on our health. However, please be advised, that we will not pay out of pocket or let our health insurance companies pay out of pocket for Doctor’s exams, for co-pays lab tests (blood work, liver toxicity, etc), loss of hours worked due to Doctors visits, any medications required taken short term or long term due to the effects of our health from the premises, and will hold you liable for any future monetary losses related to health issues or otherwise incurred from the premises. In our letters, (of which we have copies), we asked you yet again to provide us with documentation of all of our service request records for both #1007 and #611, and furnish to us a copy of the many, many documents that are in our files from both apartments #1007 and #611. However, you did not furnish these or reply to the request, yet again. At least a span of four months has gone by since we requested these items, which “couldn’t be located” at that time. So, we ask yet again to see these documents. The first time we asked, you verbally agreed to this and never followed up.Also, in our letter, we asked for a refund of the portions of rents paid (additional $$$ for having a fireplace in an apartment), due to the negligence of your maintenance staff in making our fireplace usable. Reuban agreed to fix the fireplace at the time of our move in, and since then we had complained and the issue has still gone unanswered. We are not required to pay for an amenity that we do not have. We have not had a useable fireplace since our move in date, so we are entitled to a refund for not having the use of it. Please be advised, that we have a copy of the letter you left at our door many months ago, (when we called complaining about health problems and concerns due to mold in the apartment), at which time you rather unprofessionally wrote “Mold has been around since the beginning of time. It is everywhere. Have a Nice Day!!! :) Dawn”. This lead us to believe that we were safe in the apartment. However, (as the many documents of research we provided you) this is not true.It is not very professional to tell your paying tenants in a letter “The accusations that are very false and unfounded in your letters are unfortunate.” Not only are you calling us liars and delivering insult, with all due respect, our accusations are VERY founded, because we have documentation in a notebook of the dates and times we called regarding problems, we have mold samples to prove our accusations, we have many detailed color photographs of the vents, walls, ceilings, etc., and we have written and signed documentation that you have, in fact, made statements regarding us to other tenants. We also have a evidence of white spray paint left by the maintenance staff, of which they tell tenants to spray paint over the problem areas. Of course, any of this will hold up in court. In your letter, you stated that “The leak is coming from the patio and the neighbors themselves have told of the plants.”This is not true, in fact, the neighbors, in statement to us, told us that you told them any leaks were related to flashing on the roof;( and NOT related to plants on an OUTDOOR cement balcony which is exposed to the elements and to rainwater. )However, we do have several photographs of the hole that has been over our entranceway that pours rainwater through it. This neglected problem is a concern. When we first complained of a damaged roof by the entrance to our apartment, we were told to wait for your remodel and that it would be fixed. The remodel crew drywall taped the area and painted over the hole, allow rainwater to gather in it, and eventually resulting in a bigger hole. Your statement that it has been rainy for 10 days and you had to wait for sheet rock to dry out is no excuse. This was a complaint made aware to you upon our move into our apartment, NOT just over the past ten days.Also, we let you know upon move in, as well as Reuban, that our fridge was sinking into our floor. When it rains, there are moist spots in various areas of this building. Our statement about these problems is not “unfounded” as you said, they are widely talked about by tenants and Reuban is many times the radio address.To call our accusations of the noise level “unfounded”, is false on your behalf, it has been an ongoing problem since we moved in, and there have been many occasions of the police being called. You told the neighbors we were the complainers, and they HONKED and SHOUTED at James in the morning regarding your telling them that the complaints were from apt. #611. We after that incident reported it to you.Our complaints about being blocked in by other cars are also not “unfounded”, many, many complaints have been filed with ALL of your staff and it is an ongoing problem for many other tenants as well, to which, any of them will tell you who creates the problem, should you ask.Lastly, in our lease agreement, section 6 of the Mold Info Addendum, it states “Do not clean or apply biocides to :1) visible mold on porous surfaces such as sheet rock walls or ceilings, or 2), large areas of visible mold on non-porous surfaces. Instead notify us in writing, and we will take appropriate action in compliance with Section 92.051 et seq of The Texas Property Code, subject to the special exceptions for natural disasters.”We have notified you countless times both verbal, email(which nobody has ever responded to in any form), and in writing of the mold problems(both in #611 and #1007) and concerns, and the problem has NOT been remedied by McNeil House. This is a clear violation of the property code. In fact, we moved from #1007 because of a mold problem due to a faulty AC unit, into #611 and have encountered the same problems here.We will be notifying you with estimates for sanitation and replacement of items if and when this becomes necessary.So in closing, we will not sign and accept your settlement offer, as further legal actions may be pursued by us.Regards, Tenants in #611 Posted by: Joshua / 3:18 PM ¶ 6:55 PM
The truth of what is going on at Mc Neil House Apartments, in Austin Texas. The management would have you believe:"THE BLACK MILDEW YOU SEE IS NOT MOLD"BUT WHAT THEY CALL MILDEW CAN BE DEADLY6280 Mc Neil Drive, Austin Texas 78729Many forms of hazardous mold exsist within it's dwellings.DO NOT SUBJECT YOURSELF OR YOUR FAMILY TO THIS! Mc Neil House Apartment Homes 6280 Mc Neil Drive Austin, Tx. 78729 1-512-331-6100 Apt. Manager: Dawn Aiello Co-Manager: Steve Terry Maintenance Lead: Ruben Maintenance: Gonzalo BLACK MOLD! TOXIC AND ALLERGENS IN MASS AMOUNTS! ATTEMPTED "REMEDY" BY STAFF= WHITE SPRAY PAINTFriday, February 27, 2004MC NEIL HOUSE DOES NOT VALUE IT'S TENANTS. THE MANAGER, UPON BEING TOLD NUMEROUS TIMES ABOUT A MOLD PROBLEM, ONCE LEFT A NOTE ON THE DOOR STATING "MOLD HAS BEEN AROUND SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME. :) HAVE A NICE DAY!!!"- DAWN AIELLODAWN HAS ALSO MADE STATEMENTS SUCH AS "THE BLACK MILDEW YOU SEE IS NOT MOLD"BUT, BE INFORMED THAT DAWN AIELLO HAS NO DEGREE IN BIOLOGY AND IS NOT A CERTIFIED MOLD EXPERT.A CERTIFIED MOLD EXPERT CAME TO OUR APARTMENT AND NOTED SERIOUS MOLD INFESTATIONS.KEEP IN MIND THAT, MOLD SENDS OUT SPORES WHICH GET IN ALL OF YOUR PILLOWS, CLOTHES, CURTAINS, ETC..., AND WHEN YOU MOVE YOU TAKE IT WITH YOU.AND GUESS HOW MUCH WE PAY TO LIVE WITH MOLD AND BE TREATED LIKE TRASH? THE LIST PRICE ON OUR APARTMENT IS $1,269.00 MONTHLY.THE MANAGEMENT MAY GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF A "RENT DEAL" AND GET YOU TO MOVE IN FOR LESS, HOWEVER, WHAT THEY DO NOT INFORM YOU OF IS ALL THE EXTRA EXPENSES, ELECTRIC BILLS FOR US RAN CLOSE TO $400.00 A MONTH, ONLY TO REALIZE THAT THE APT. WAS NOT VERY WELL WEATHER PROOFED OR INSULATED. YES, WE COMPLAINED, AND THE MANAGEMENT SENT MAINT. OUT. THEY APPLIED DUCT TAPE ON A CORNER OF A DOOR AND CONSIDERED IT COMPLETED.WOULD YOU WANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS? Posted by: Joshua / 4:00 PMQ. If mold is present in the walls of home when it is being built will the mold go away after the walls are sealed up as long as no water enters that wall area?1. A. No, mold does not "go away" after walls of a new home are sealed. If mold spores and mold growth are denied access to current moisture, they will simply go dormant, waiting for future water from high humidity [above 60%] or future roof leaks, plumbing leaks, etc. Even the smell of dormant mold can make some people sick. Mold needs to be removed from all new home timbers and building materials, and then the mold decontaminated area needs to be sprayed with two wet spray coatings of Coverage Plus mold fungicide and Tim-bor antimicrobial coating. 1. Exposure to mold is not healthy for anyone but the following individuals are at a higher risk for adverse heath effects: infants, children, elderly, immune compromised patients, pregnant women, and individuals with existing respiratory conditions. When inhaled, even in small amounts, mold can cause a wide range of health problems including respiratory problems (wheezing), nasal and sinus congestion, watery and red eyes, nose and throat irritation, skin irritation, aches and pains, fevers, and in some cases even death.A person who ingests or inhales a large number of spores may suffer adverse health effects.1. What health effects can be caused by exposure to mold?Exposure to any mold could cause health effects (e.g., allergic symptoms such as watery eyes, a runny nose, sneezing, nasal congestion, itching, coughing, wheezing, difficulty breathing, headache and fatigue) under the right conditions. Similarly, the same amount of mold may cause health effects in one person, but not in another, because some people are more sensitive to molds than others. These include:infants and children elderly persons immune compromised patients (i.e., people with HIV infection, cancer, liver disease, etc., or who are under-going chemotherapy) individuals with existing respiratory conditions, such as allergies and asthma. Should I be concerned about mold in my home?When airborne mold spores are present in large numbers, they can cause skin irritation, allergic reactions, asthma episodes, infections and other respiratory problems for people. Exposure to high spore levels can cause the development of an allergy to the mold. Mold also can cause structural damage to your home.Can my home be tested for mold?1. Testing for molds is very difficult and expensive. Homeowners must hire a contractor to test their homes. Even if testing is done, no standards exist to judge what are acceptable amounts of mold. Testing cannot determine whether health effects will occur. Mold is normally found outdoors and counts fluctuate from day to day depending on the season. Due to the uncertainties associated with testing for molds, it is not recommended in most cases. If you can see or smell mold, testing is usually not necessary. It needs to be cleaned up.Common symptoms of exposure to mold range from the following: Headache, fatigue, shortness of breath. Sinus congestion, coughing and sneezing.Eye, nose, throat and skin irritation. Dizziness and nausea. .Not everyone has the same sensitivity to mold so it is possible for one person to experience discomfort while others living in the home to have no symptoms whatsoever. Individuals at the greatest risk include: Allergy and asthma sufferers. People with respiratory disease. People with compromised immune systems. Contact lens wearers. If mold in your home is the source of these issues, you will find that your health improves if you are away from your home for an extended period of time. Common symptoms of exposure to mold range from the following: Headache, fatigue, shortness of breath. Sinus congestion, coughing and sneezing. Eye, nose, throat and skin irritation. Dizziness and nausea. Why are we concerned about mold? Small amounts of mold growth in workplaces or homes (such as mildew on a shower curtain) or workplaces are not a major concern, but no mold should be permitted to grow and multiply indoors. When molds are present in large quantities, they may cause nuisance odors and health problems for some people. Mold can damage building materials, finishes and home furnishings. Some molds can cause structural damage to wood.How do molds affect people? Most people will have no reaction at all when exposed to molds. Allergic reactions, similar to common pollen or animal allergies, are the most common health effects for individuals sensitive to molds. Flu-like symptoms and skin rash may occur. Molds may also aggravate asthma. Fungal infections from building-associated molds may occur in people with serious immune disease but this is very rare. Who is affected by exposure to mold? For those who are affected by mold exposure, there can be a wide variation in how they react. People who may be affected more severely and quickly than others include:infants and children elderly people pregnant women individuals with respiratory conditions or allergies and asthma persons with weakened immune systems (for example, people with HIV infection, chemotherapy patients, or organ or bone marrow transplant recipients, autoimmune diseases.) Molds produce tiny spores to reproduce. Mold spores waft through the indoor and outdoor air continually. When mold spores land on a damp spot indoors, they may begin growing and digesting whatever they are growing on in order to survive. There are molds that can grow on wood, paper, carpet, and foods. When excessive moisture or water accumulates indoors, mold growth will often occur, particularly if the moisture problem remains undiscovered or un-addressed. There is no practical way to eliminate all mold and mold spores in the indoor environment; the way to control indoor mold growth is to control moisture.1. The key to mold control is moisture control. It is important to dry water damaged areas and items within 24-48 hours to prevent mold growth. If mold is a problem in your home, clean up the mold and get rid of the excess water or moisture. Fix leaky plumbing or other sources of water. Wash mold off hard surfaces with detergent and water, and dry completely. Absorbent materials (such as ceiling tiles & carpet) that become moldy may have to be replaced.NOTE: There are laws against endangerment of your health. The more people that know about the problem, the less likely the owner/manager is to continue endangering your health or to take illegal actions against you.Going to court is likely to take too long to keep you from further health problems, such as acquiring a life-long lung disease due to the mold. There are currently no legal limits on the amounts or types of mold in occupied buildings.1. If the owner/manager fails to quickly eliminate the mold problem, then you should do the following before the apartment owner/manager has a chance to cover-up the mold:Some molds that propagate indoors may, under some conditions, produce mycotoxins that can adversely affect living cells and organisms by a variety of mechanisms. Adverse effects of molds and mycotoxins have been recognized for centuries following ingestion of contaminated foods. Occupational diseases are also recognized in association with inhalation exposure to fungi, bacteria, and other organic matter, usually in industrial or agricultural settings. Molds growing indoors are believed by some to cause building-related symptoms. Despite a voluminous literature on the subject, the causal association remains weak and unproven, particularly with respect to causation by mycotoxins. One mold in particular, Stachybotrys chartarum, is blamed for a diverse array of maladies when it is found indoors. Despite its well-known ability to produce mycotoxins under appropriate growth conditions, years of intensive study have failed to establish exposure to S. chartarum in home, school, or office environments as a cause of adverse human health effects. Levels of exposure in the indoor environment, dose-response data in animals, and dose-rate considerations suggest that delivery by the inhalation route of a toxic dose of mycotoxins in the indoor environment is highly unlikely at best, even for the hypothetically most vulnerable subpopulations. Normal building materials and furnishings provide ample nutrition for many species of molds, but they can grow and amplify indoors only when there is an adequate supply of moisture. Where mold grows indoors there is an inappropriate source of water that must be corrected before remediation of the mold colonization can succeed. Mold growth in the home, school, or office environment should not be tolerated because mold physically destroys the building materials on which it grows, mold growth is unsightly and may produce offensive odors, and mold is likely to sensitize and produce allergic responses in allergic individuals.Molds and other fungi may adversely affect human health through three processes: 1) allergy; 2) infection; and 3) toxicity. One can estimate that about 10% of the population has allergic antibodies to fungal antigens. Only half of these, or 5%, would be expected to show clinical illness. Furthermore, outdoor molds are generally more abundant and important in airway allergic disease than indoor molds — leaving the latter with an important, but minor overall role in allergic airway disease. Allergic responses are most commonly experienced as allergic asthma or allergic rhinitis ("hay fever"). A rare, but much more serious immune-related condition, hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP), may follow exposure (usually occupational) to very high concentrations of fungal (and other microbial) proteins. Some molds have been known to produce toxins that are harmful to animals and humans when ingested, inhaled or in contact with the skin. The molds that produce toxins are known as toxigenic molds. The earliest known toxigenic molds, primarily Claviceps purpurea, produce the substance ergot. The ergot molds infect rye, grains and other grasses. Ingestion of ergot contaminated rye or other cereals causes ergotism. There are two types of ergotism recognized clinically: gangrenous and convulsive. Gangrenous ergotism affects the extremities as well as causes gastrointestinal symptoms. Convulsive ergotism affects the nerve system causing brain and spinal lesions which can lead to death or permanent mental impairment.Many molds in addition to ergot molds produce secondary toxic metabolites, such as alkaloids, cyclopeptides, and coumarins. Metabolites that can produce adverse health effects (mycotoxicoses) in animals and humans are collectively known as mycotoxins. The latest World Health Organization (WHO) publication on mycotoxins, available in 1990, indicated that there are more than 200 mycotoxins produced by a variety of common molds. Historically, mycotoxins are a problem to farmers and food industries and in Eastern European and third world countries. However, many toxigenic molds, such as Stachybotrys chartarum (also known as Stachybotrys atra) and species of Aspergillus and Penicillium, have been found to infest buildings with known indoor air and building-related problems.In addition to mycotoxins, volatile organic compounds (moldy odors) released from actively growing molds may also pose a health risk.What are the health effects of mycotoxins?Mycotoxins may cause a variety of short-term as well as long-term adverse health effects. This ranges from immediate toxic response and immune-suppression to the potential long-term carcinogenic effect. Symptoms due to mycotoxins or toxins-containing airborne spores (particularly those of Stachybotrys chartarum) include dermatitis, recurring cold and flu-like symptoms, burning sore throat, headaches and excessive fatigue, diarrhea, and impaired or altered immune function. The ability of the body to fight off infectious diseases may be weakened resulting in opportunistic infections. Certain mycotoxins, such as zearalenone (F2 toxin), can cause infertility and stillbirths in pigs. Because these symptoms may also be caused by many other diseases, misdiagnoses of mycotoxin exposures are common. There are very few physicians with the experience or expertise in correctly diagnosing mycotoxin exposures or mycotoxicoses. Occupational or building-related exposures to mycotoxins through inhalation are slowly being recognized as a major indoor air quality problem. Generally, removal of causative agents is necessary. Treatment for symptomatic mycotoxicosis may be required. If exposure to molds and mycotoxins is suspected, consult an occupational health professional. Fungal growth in an indoor environment is often related to the availability of nutrient, water/moisture, proper temperature range and the presence of inoculum (often fungal spores). The key factor is water/moisture. Moisture control to reduce condensation and free water will prevent or control fungal growth.In an environment where water/moisture-related problems often lead to fungal growth, rapid response to the problem is the key solution. Mold-infested materials should be removed and replaced (see also below). Materials that can not be replaced should be decontaminated or treated. Consult an environmental microbiologist for such decontamination treatments. Proper project design and procedures are an important factor in a successful decontamination project. Biocidal application may be necessary under certain conditions. More importantly, before any decontamination is performed, water and excessive moisture must be controlled and eliminated.Most importantly, fungal infestation may be directly correlated with building operation and maintenance. Spores of Stachybotrys chartarum are wet and slimy. They do not easily become airborne. Their dissemination is likely through insects (such as cockroaches), rodents, water incursion or air stream. Without the assistance of insects, rodents and free running water, the likelihood of Stachybotrys chartarum spreading from one location to the other requires the disturbance of a dried slimy spore mass. Spores and hyphae of S. chartarum have been detected in air samples. Any detection of S. chartarum spores in indoor air should be considered significant.To prevent or eliminate fungal infestation in buildings, the following procedures should be observed:1. Heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems must be properly filtered and maintained. 2. Water intrusion must be taken care of within 24 hours. Never overlook small leaks. Ignored small leaks are much more problematic than a properly handled major flood. For additional information on the proper handling of water intrusion, please see Enviros Vol. 3, No. 8 (August 1993); back issues are available. 3. Proper handling and storage of food to keep insects and rodents away from buildings. 4. In a warm, humid climate, a building engineer should be consulted to make sure that a moisture barrier is properly installed and that no condensation will occur. 5. Install dehumidifiers in areas where humidity is constantly high. Keep relative humidity between 20% and 50%. 6. If large areas of contamination are determined, asbestos-like remediation procedures are necessary. Consult an industrial hygienist with experience in asbestos remediation procedures, as well as in biohazard remediation. If a building is known to have extensive fungal growth, consult an industrial hygienist with training and experience in microbiological control. Human and environmental protection must be observed when removing and handling fungal contaminated materials.A case of attempted suicide with purified aflatoxin [B.sub.1] is reported to have occurred in 1966 in the USA. A young woman ingested a total of 5.5 mg of aflatoxin [B.sub.1] over 2 days and, 6 months later, a total of 35 mg over 2 weeks. Following the first exposure, she was admitted to hospital with a transient, nonpruritic, macular rash, nausea and headache; the second time she reported nausea only. 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.I've seen people become deathly ill," Mr. Krell said.Which hardly means that mold is harmless. "We know that there are a range of health effects related to mold exposure," said Dr. Maida P. Galvez"We know that families with strong histories of allergic diseases are more susceptible to these exposures," Dr. Galvez said, "that mold can exacerbate these conditions." At a minimum, mold can cause eye, ear, nose and throat irritation, as well as coughing and wheezing — sometimes severe and unrelenting.Still, mold can be deadly. Dr. Jordan Fink, a professor in the allergy and immunology division of the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, said mold can cause hypersensitivity pneumonitis, resulting in progressive lung impairment. "There have been fatal cases of hypersensitivity pneumonitis," he said, "because of the inflammation and scarring of pulmonary tissue." Mold thrives on moisture. And, as Mr. Garcia emphasized, remediation requires elimination of the source. "Whatever caused water damage must be fixed," he said. "Realistically, that should be done before the cleaning, because the mold will come back." Better yet, leaks should be eliminated before mold ever takes root.If mold does become visible — a big if, given that it also thrives in a building's dark recesses — a cleanup is in order.The Old Testament, while genteelly referring to mold as mildew, offers a harsh prescription. Speaking of "the priest," Leviticus 14, says: "If mildew has spread on the walls, he is to order that the contaminated stones be torn out." If mildew reappears, it says, "the house must be torn down."Mold releases microscopic fungal spores that, if inhaled, can trigger allergy and asthma symptoms in sensitive people, Reynolds explains. It can also lead to sinus infections.Mold in the La Venezia ApartmentsLet me begin by introducing myself. My name is Gina Lewis and I moved into the apartments at La Venezia in November 2002. We moved out in April 2003. My husband, 3-year-old son and I were very impressed with the spacious apartment we moved into (Apartment 212). We wanted to make it homey and nice. We were welcomed with open arms and given a checklist. We were asked to write down any problems we thought there were with the apartment. We noticed a stain on the wall in our master bedroom and reported it to the maintenance person, Chris, (no longer with La Venezia). At first we thought we might have spilled coffee or tea on the wall and my husband painted over it. The stain reappeared after it had rained. We called maintenance again, but the problem was never fixed. At the time we rented the apartment, the complex was not owned by LaVenezia, L.L.C. It was operated and managed by Epoch Management.FEELING SICK around December 2002My son began getting cold symptoms. We started bringing him to the doctor and he was placed on antibiotic after antibiotic. He had diarrhea, green mucous discharge constantly running from his nose, temperatures, ear infections, etc. I remember one day driving in the car and he was on antibiotics and he tried to blow that discharge from his nose, but it would not come out. He said, “Mommy, look, I can breathe!” I thought, thank God. Hopefully this will be the last of it. However, it just kept continuing. We were constantly called to take my son out of daycare because of his high temperatures and vomiting. Let me state that his symptoms began well before he was placed in daycare. I was constantly out of work because of respiratory problems, bronchitis, ear infections, diarrhea, headaches, urinary tract infections, yeast infections, etc. Someone would ask me a question and a minute later I would forget the question or I would begin slurring my words. I was so forgetful. I never had any problems with asthma or my breathing before moving into La Venezia. We moved out of La Venezia in April, however I am still sick. I keep getting ear infections, my body constantly aches like the flu, I am exhausted all the time and I am going to be seen by a specialist shortly. The doctors are perplexed and my family is very worried about me. This has been a constant battle and I just want my health back so that I can enjoy time with my family. After work, I just go home and go to sleep. I sleep the weekends away and I am constantly taking Advil or placed on antibiotics. My husband was very ill while living at LaVenezia also. He also had breathing problems, diarrhea, headaches, etc.THE NEW OWNER AND HIS CONCERN FOR RESIDENTSIn January, I had spoken to David Taylor and he told me that he was not aware of the problems because he had just bought LaVenezia in January. He offered to move us into another apartment building after many letters and he was very cooperative when the health inspector came to point out the mold, the roof leaks, the cracks, poor paint jobs, window leaks, etc. He was somewhat apprehensive, but moved us into another building. We were also not obligated to the Lease Agreement from that day forward as I knew a little about Florida Law and the responsibility of the owner. Even though the health inspector showed him the problems and the mold in apartment 212, David Taylor would not admit to mold. He would only admit to water or plumbing problems. I find that quite peculiar, as water damage is the cause of mold.When Bob Kallotte (the health inspector) mentioned court to David Taylor and made a comment on David Taylor’s Rolex watch, David Taylor said that he wouldn’t be wearing that Rolex watch in court if he had to go. David Taylor also said to me that he had to worry about the buildings because of the next rainstorm. I find it strange that Florida has had an unusual amount of rain this season. Have you noticed any water intrusion in your apartment? The maintenance person, Ryan Berry came into our second apartment to look at the air conditioning unit and the window leaks we were complaining about. He said to my husband that he did not understand why we had window leaks as they had cleaned those windows up real good. Did you know that painting over mold or putting sealer over the mold only masks the problem? In fact, David Taylor sent us a letter from an “inspector”, Tony Posa. This “inspector” did inspections for hotels, yet we received an inspection from this man stating that there was no mold in our apartment. I thought it was a coincidence that the maintenance manager was hired by David Taylor and previously worked in the hotel industry. I found it interesting that we received a notice on our door from management saying they were doing air quality testing. What type of air quality testing? How thorough? How objective? Was it because they were looking out for our health or was it an attempt to make us believe that there were no mold problems with inadequate testing? Have you noticed the late night commercials regarding renting apartments at LaVenezia? They show the beautiful property, but they don’t show any remediation.DANGER - APARTMENT NUMBER TWO AND THE THREATS BEGINIt was not long before David Taylor and Beverly Crafts changed their attitude to nasty. I was approached by Beverly Crafts and David Taylor in a golf cart outside of my apartment (1875) before a gathering at the clubhouse. They were trying to intimidate me and I was in the car with my mother and son. David Taylor asked why I was still living there and why I was smoking if my mother had COPD. I responded by telling him that I was not smoking inside the car and I would not subject my mother and son to the smoke. Also take into consideration that when we did smoke, we went outside onto the lanai. We never smoked in the apartment. Of course he tried to blame our health issues on smoking.I found it ironic that he would bring this hypocrisy up in front of Beverly Crafts who does smoke. I also know the risks of smoking and health, but I have never heard that smoking contributes to memory loss, urinary tract infections and yeast infections. I chose to put a cigarette in my mouth and light it, however I did not choose to breathe in mold spores, I was forced without my knowledge. I also wonder how my son and mother (both nonsmokers) could develop breathing problems and a list of medical issues. Beverly Crafts called me crazy. At that time, I suggested to Mr. Taylor, if he wanted us to move he could waive our cost of rent and we would immediately move out. He did not respond well to that. In fact, he said, “It’s all about money with you isn’t it Gina?” I say to myself, all about money? Here we were paying for a hotel room, throwing away all of our belongings because of mold contamination, out of money, robbed of our health, out of health insurance, a child constantly having diarrhea and a green discharge from his nose, etc. and here is a man who has a wife and son highly allergic to mold.I wrote David Taylor a letter offering him and his family to live in Apartment 1825 while we were staying at the hotel. Of course he did not subject his family to the mold spores. I don’t think the man cared if we were homeless and sick or not. All he could think of was his business and his money. He then asked if my employer was aware that I was faxing letters to LaVenezia’s office. I explained that my employer’s assistant was well aware of what I had been doing. He also pointed out that he and his brother knew Larry Sewell (employer at the time) very well. I found it no coincidence that I lost my job soon after that.THE POLICE KNOCKING ON MY DOOR The same exact day following the golf cart incident, I was stopped by Beverly Crafts as I proceeded to go into the clubhouse to follow a neighbor (Pam Billichuk). She told me that I could not come in. I told her that I could and I did go into the clubhouse. The next thing I know, David Taylor pulls me to the side and tried to hint to me that he was my friend and that I should leave or Beverly would call the police. I gave him a wink and said sure you are my friend David. After all, who is in charge at LaVenezia, David Taylor or Beverly Crafts? I was peacefully handing out factual informational flyers and I believe that they did not want this information known to the other residents. I went back to my apartment to cook supper. Let me point out that we were paying rent at LaVenezia and paying for a hotel room at the same time because the apartment was uninhabitable. We could not cook dinner at the hotel so I proceeded to go to the Apartment 1825 and cook dinner when I heard a loud knock at my door. It was the police. They said they received a complaint that I was screaming across the clubhouse. Of course that was not true. I was told to remain silent and listen to what I could and could not do there. I patiently listened. I am legally allowed to send mail and also to stand outside of the clubhouse and hand out informational flyers to those who are willing to receive them. The second choice was not an option as I knew that David Taylor and Beverly Crafts would lie and call the police on me again. I thought this was funny…..after I received the riot act, one of the policemen asked me who he could call regarding mold in his home.MOM UNDERGOES UNNECESSARY SURGERYMy mother got very ill in Apartment 1825 after staying there for just a few hours. I had to fly to her home because the doctors could not understand what was wrong with her and thought she might be having heart trouble. She underwent a catheterization and the doctor did not find any blockage. Finally, she was placed on Prednisone an inhaler and an antibiotic. She was on her way to feeling better, but it was very stressful and scary.IF WE HAD ONLY KNOWN! In short, I am deeply disturbed that we rented from management and they were aware or shortly became very aware of mold issues. However, they continue to partially work on half of a building while the other half is still occupied. That is unheard of. There are dumpsters filled with wood and the smell of mold. There are apartments occupied that have not been remediated. People are getting sick and they don’t even know that it is caused by water intrusion leading to mold spores. Take a walk around your apartment complex and you will see for yourself. Doesn’t it seem strange to you that they are fixing the outside of the apartment buildings, but yet they are not tearing down the inside walls? We only saw the water damage in our apartment when management opened the wall and the ant infestation poured out. David Taylor had maintenance come in to work in apartment 212 while my husband was still moving. My husband had no idea the maintenance person was going to open the wall while he was in there. The man opened the wall and ants came pouring out onto the ceiling, the walls and the floors. My husband pulled out the video camera and taped it. That would explain the ant problem that we constantly had. Ants follow the water. Two movers from Two Men and a Truck were present that day and could not believe their eyes.MOVED OUT AND STILL FACING HEALTH ISSUESBeverly Crafts has called me crazy, she has also told me that I should move from Florida because there is mold everywhere, I have been threatened, I have lost jobs and my health. My husband has also lost his job. I have been harassed and threatened, however, I will continue with my freedom of speech and my purpose to make residents aware of this issue. I urge you to contact your Sarasota County Health Inspector, Bob Kallotte if you have been sick. The Sarasota County Health Department (Robert Kallotte) inspected our apartment at 212 in February 2003 and it is documented quite clearly that there was mold throughout the apartment due to water leaks. These records are public. Anyone can call and request any inspections done at LaVenezia. Don’t believe me. Make a call. See for yourself. WHY I CHOOSE TO SPEAK ABOUT THIS The purpose of this letter is to create awareness in your LaVenezia apartment complex. Take a look around and see the cracks on the buildings, wood all over the place in dumpsters, etc. You will also see and smell mold. Now look to see if that building is unoccupied. The building should be empty while they are doing this work and the residents should be notified. Why? Simply because those microscopic mold spores cannot be seen with the naked eye. I do not want anyone else to experience this unhealthy exposure and the domino affect. However, I already know people who have lived there and have been sick. This issue has become so important to me that I am joining other groups to volunteer my time to set guidelines through the Environmental Protection Agency and legislature. Don’t kid yourself. This issue should be very important to the health insurance industry. After all, there are so many people who go to the doctor repeatedly because they are sick and they are initially told that they have a cold. Our tax dollars pay for this. The elderly are at stake and what about the out-of-pocket costs to pet owners? Please email if you wish to discuss this. My email address is….Ginalewis@hotmail.com. My telephone number is 918-9475. I can email you pictures and documentation or I can meet with you regarding this. You should be concerned for your health and your family’s health. You should also be concerned for your neighbor’s health.Sincerely, Gina LewisCc: David TaylorBeverly CraftsRobert KallotteMost people think that if they have mold, they must be a horrible housekeeper. Let me assure you that I have videos of my apartment and it was very clean. People are afraid to bring this issue up as they feel they may be accused of being a dirty person. Mold has nothing to do with housekeeping. Mold is caused by poor construction and water intrusion. Water that is dormant for 72 hours turns into dirty water causing mold. It is the mold spores that cause people to be ill. I have heard so many people defend themselves by stating they are clean people. Mold does not discriminate. Mold should not be growing in your apartment. 1. By Rachael Myer Arizona Daily Wildcat,February 14, 2000 Toxic mold from a former Christopher City resident's apartment probably caused stomach, intestinal and balance problems, a UA risk management official said Thursday. Kathy Skiles, who lived at the University of Arizona's family housing complex last semester, said she suffered health problems from her apartment that caused her to leave the UA in January. Julia Rosen, health and safety officer for Risk Management, is scheduled to finish a report this week about the mold in Skiles' carpeting at Christopher City Apartment Complex, 3401 N. Columbus Blvd. The complex houses UA students with families as well as many international students. "I think it could have explained her symptoms," Rosen said about the mold. Water dripped onto Skiles' carpet, which was made out of cellulose and allowed toxic mold to develop, Rosen said. "I'm compiling the results of our samples, and I need to get that report to Residence Life," Rosen said. James Van Arsdel, Residence Life director, said he was aware the report was being written by Rosen, but did not have first-hand knowledge of its findings. "Obviously it concluded that a resident may have come into contact with something that could have some adverse effect on them," Van Arsdel said. "It's hard for me to say anything else until I know what Julie (Rosen) has to say." But Van Arsdel said he was unsure of the mold's effect on Skiles. "I don't know if we can absolutely say that is what caused someone's symptoms," Van Arsdel said about the carpet mold. Skiles' problems began about the time she moved into her apartment, 32-G, in August. She said the apartment had a strong odor that is unlike anything she has ever smelled before. Her problems started as a runny nose and a headache, but developed into stomach and intestinal problems, as well as difficulty balancing. "In the earlier (part of the) semester, I was like a dead person walking - I was so sick," Skiles said in a telephone interview from Pennsylvania. "Six months ago, I had all these dreams and these things going for me," Skiles said. She added that personal problems - as well as poor health - contributed to her decision to leave UA. Skiles said even though she has moved more than 2,300 miles from Christopher City, she is unable to get rid of the smell of her old apartment. "My furniture still smells like Christopher City," said Skiles, who was studying psychology and eventually wanted to earn a doctoral degree. "My mom has used Febreeze on my sofa more times than I can count." In late September, Skiles contacted Christopher City maintenance about her illness. They flushed the air filter with bleach, but the smell persisted and her eyes still burned. "All along the way, they tell me that every so often there are problems with the air handlers," Skiles said. Christopher City maintenance staff also cleaned her carpet, but Skiles said it made no difference. In October, UA Campus Health officials told Skiles not to return to her apartment and signed a doctor's note stating that she should move out. Chemical analysis stated she had elevated liver levels, Skiles said. Risk Management conducted a report about the apartment and found that mold had grown on Skiles' air handlers, Skiles said. Christopher City gave Skiles the use of a guest apartment but she did not want to live there because the apartment smelled similar to her previous place. "I was not being overly picky here - they were not in the greatest shape," Skiles said. Van Arsdel said Residence Life helped Skiles as much as possible. "As I understand, our staff went to great lengths to determine what kind of problem there was," he said. "I don't have any doubt our staff took appropriate actions in that case - that's not a concern of mine." Skiles moved in with a friend, Charla Carr - who also lived at Christopher City - for the rest of the semester because she said she was tired of being sick. But Carr had problems with her apartment, too. Carr's daughter, Kylee, developed asthma about three months after the family moved into their apartment. Kylee, who had no previous or family history of asthma problems, developed asthma from mold in their apartment, Carr said. Kylee, 5, first had cold-like symptoms, and then she had trouble breathing at times. "I had asthma and it hurts because my tummy was hurt very bad," Kylee Carr said last week. "I feel happy I don't have it anymore." The family moved to an apartment closer to campus on Dec. 1 because of Kylee's health problems. Rosen said Carr's apartment had a different type of mold and also less mold than Skiles' apartment. Risk Management wrote a report about Carr's apartment Nov. 29 after Kylee became ill. The report, written by Rosen, stated black stains on Carr's insulated water pipes "suggested mold growth." Rosen found a "nickel-sized" black stain on a bedroom ceiling as well as mold in the air conditioner's condensation pan. Rosen said this mold would not have been present in the air while Carr lived there and would not have been a problem. She added that thousands of molds grow naturally. "In my opinion, there was very little mold at her apartment," Rosen said about Carr's residence. Van Arsdel said he has not personally spoken with Carr, but that his office acted appropriately. "I'm not aware of anything that we should have done that we haven't done," Van Arsdel said. Carr, a single parent, said she moved to Christopher City Aug. 1 from Seattle to earn a degree and provide a better future for her daughter. "I'm a little bitter," Carr said. "I think I'm really upset because people aren't aware of it." Carr was present while Southwest Hazard Control Inc., a Tucson hazardous materials remediation agency, painted over the pipes and bleached them. Rosen said her agency has conducted four complaint-driven reports in the last five years regarding Christopher City and the UA has taken action on all of them. The two latest reports were for the Carr and Skiles apartments. Another report was about pesticides used to control roaches and one was about an herbicide used in gravel. Martha Castleberry, Christopher City community services manager, said her office has received about a dozen complaints about health problems from residents during the past five years. Castleberry said the most frequent complaint residents make is about allergies with cold-like symptoms. "People get allergies that are so different, that's why its so hard to find out what's wrong with them" Castleberry said. She said many Christopher City residents are unaware of the danger of living in their apartments. "I firmly believe all the apartments have problems whether the residents are aware about it or not," Skiles said. Carr said she wants a decision made about Christopher City. "Just do something - close it down or fix it," Carr said. Like being strangled Three weeks after moving in, something was very wrong. Each time I climbed the stairs to my apartment, I wheezed. Once inside, I often felt like someone was strangling me, cutting off my air supply. I went to see my doctor. He told me I had asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or possibly both. 1. In November, I noticed slimy black mold - the kind you might find in the bathroom - on the window sills. Management said this happened all the time during the winter months; it was just condensation. Clean it with bleach, they said. That I did. Then the migraines came. For the next three months I also had continual sinus infections and strep throat. I blamed it all on the gas heat. It had been years since I lived in anything other than all-electric. When friends who visited complained of headaches that went away after they left the apartment, I still didn’t put two and two together.The only bright spot was Peaches and Mango, who by this time had joined me and had the run of the apartment. They would sit on my shoulder when I was on the computer or sewing, and "cuddle" with me when I watched TV. They were my new friends, in a new apartment, and new town. They were helping me to adjust to the empty nest syndrome.Something black was growing on the wall around the vent in the living room. I found the same splattering in my bedroom.But I continued to feel poorly. Then in March 2001 I was rushed by ambulance to the hospital for intestinal bleeding. I thought I had a severe case of food poisoningBy now, something black was growing on the wall around the heating and air-conditioning vent in the living room. The splattering grew to two feet by two feet across the ceiling and adjacent walls. I found the same thing in my bedroom. 1. Maintenance cleaned the black mold off with bleach. It came back. They cleaned it again, and applied a paint with fungicide. It came back.The cycle continued, even after maintenance said they had cleaned the ductwork and sprayed it with a fungicide. The biologist who came to my apartment discovered three types of mold, later identified as alternaria and rhizopus, both potentially toxic (see 1. Your Guide to Molds), and torulopus, implicated in some types of infections. Before leaving, he recommended that I crack the windows to allow more air to circulate and contact the codes compliance office of the city of Williamsburg. The city sent their own inspector to investigate, and he found the origin of the mold. It was in the insulation - not in the ductwork - that surrounded the intake vent for the heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Re: Mold at Canyon Springs Apartment in Lynnwood Washington Posted by empathetic on 8/11/03 1. Good luck. I lost everything I owned and am now living in a pop-up camper, having to move every couple of weeks. The laws are designed to protect the interest of the land owners, not the tenants. I had much medical and lab results identifying mold and pesticides and still couldn't get any justice. Try the media, governer's office, mayor's office, congressman' office. Type one letter and cc to all others with notation at bottom of cc recepients. Report your attorney to the attorney disciplinary board. Document everything, but remember, I had 'proof' and it still wasn't enough. On 8/08/03, DSmith wrote: > I lived at Canyon Springs apartment unit, bldg.C for three > years, 1998-2001. In that three years my son and I > experience one asthamtic cold after another along with > other medical conditions that the doctor could not diganois > correctly, even my doctor was wondering why we were having > so many colds, he never tested us for mold alergy.> I finally gave a 30 day notice to vacate my lease one > month early when I discovered mold growing through the > walls and in the carpet of my apartment.> When I told the manager about the mold and asked her to > come look at the unit she stated she could not come down > because she (Lisa) was pregent. She sent the matinence man > (Dewitt)down to look at the unit who stated that there was > water steeping in becasue of the flashing on the exterior > of the bldg which needed sealed, and he actually stated to > me that I better get used to the mold because I live in the > NW. I call Snohomish county health department to come to > the apartment and they stated they could not come to my > complex because there was so many cases of mold in > Snohomish county, Washington state apartments they could > not hangle the load. I chose to vacate the apartment in > doing so I now owe a termination fee of $1400.00. I made > sure that I took pictures and a viedo of the apartment upon > vacating and it is clear in the viedo that there was mold > growing in my apartment.> I sent my viedo and a letter stating what I experienced to > Washington state public health department in Olympia the > director of Washington state viewed the viedo and he could > see evidence from the viedo that there was mold growing on > the walls and through the carpet in my unit. In his letter > he refered me to the Snohomish county Department of > Planning and Develeopment and I contacted the Department of > Planning and Develeopment who sent me a letter stating they > could not handle the case because I had vacated the > apartment, if I would have stayed in the apartment they > could have come out and tested the apartment at a charge, > $125.00.> I went to a lawyer who view the viedo and stated I had a > case, I was charged $3500.00 after I took a year developing > this case than my lawyer wanted more money, the lawyer > stated it could cost me up to $20,000.00 to take this case > to court.> I decided to go to small claims court and at that court > hearing I was told I did not have resonable cause to move. > Even with evidence of the condition of the apartment and > $5000.00 later Canyon Springs is allowed to let this > condition exsit. I know that there are other cases against > this complex from other tenants that have or are dealing > with with mold in there units. I hope writting and posting > this message on this chatboard I can be of help to others > who are experiencing this same problem and make a statment > to owners of these apartments that they need to fix the > problem and should not charge tenants a fee for chosing to > vacate due to health issue.> If you have any question about this complex or any other > complex in Washington State please email me and I will help > you along in your process of getting a case together on > this complex or any other complex in Snohomish county, I > did a lot of work on my own and have alot of information > that is for Washington state residents and the issue with > mold....I could find no offical department of Washington > state that would stand up for our tenant rights.........> DSmith at DSmith9826@aol.comPosted by: Joshua / 3:40 PMTHIS WEBSITE AND BLOG ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION. PHOTOS WILL BE ADDED SOON. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO REPRODUCE, COPY OR OTHERWISE. BECOME INFORMED ON HAZARDS TO YOUR HEALTH LIKE MOLD. THERE IS A LOT OF INFO HERE ABOUT OUR PROBLEMS, AS WELL AS FACTS TO HELP YOU. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME : JOSHUA.P.ANGELL@ATT.NETMOLD IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM. ACCORDING TO THE EPA, THERE IS NO LEGAL AMOUNT OF MOLD IN A RENTAL DWELLING. TOXIC MOLD AND ALLERGENIC MOLDS IN LARGE AMOUNTS ARE HARMFUL TO YOUR HEALTH. Posted by: Joshua / 3:33 PMFeb. 14, 2004Dawn,After writing the email that we have printed out and place in the rent $$ deposit box, we continued to do research about mildews and molds. We have printed out for you our findings, which differ very much from what we have been told about what is going on in our apartment, as well as what was going on in apartment #1007, which we moved out of due to mildew/mold problems caused by a faulty AC unit.We no longer wish to live in such conditions. We are asking to be released from our lease, without penalty, so that we may begin looking for a new place to live. Please type out a release from our lease contract. Of course, we will continue to live here until we have found a new place, but will give ample notice to you once we do find a new place to live.As you may or may not be aware, Joshua is in the healthcare field, as well as his credentials and degrees. We believe that our apartment is unhealthy, do to our repeated headaches, dizziness, and nausea sensations. We have done extensive research into other people who have had the same problems in apartment dwellings, and due to our health issues(nausea, dizziness, headaches, breathing problems, sinus infections, chronic fatigue), and to our research, among problems with accusations from the maintenance staff, accusations from the management, and issues regarding noise levels, and being blocked in by other tenant’s cars, we believe it would be best for us to find a new place to live. All of these problems have made this living situation very unpleasant. We hope that you will respect our decision in this matter. Please provide us with a typed and signed letter releasing us from our apartment. We would also like to have you write in that letter the amount of rents that we have paid, and the dates that the rent was paid on, (for our protection so that we may have documentation of our payments, other than our cashed checks and banking statements). If you do not wish to write this in your letter of release to us, copies of rent receipts (including receipts from our stay in apartment #1007), will suffice.We are enclosing a verification letter, from the ACORN Housing Corporation, where we will begin the process of buying a place to live. We have pre-filled the letter out for you, and enclosed a copy. We are asking that you please fill it out and sign the form, and fax it back to us at1-512-331-5852. Please also staple a copy of this form to our letter of release, so that we will have a non-faxed copy. Please place all of this in a sealed envelope and leave it at our entryway.We appreciate your cooperation in this matter, and wish you and Mc Neil House the very best in your future endeavors.Tenants, apartment #6116280 Mc Neil DriveAustin, Texas 78729Posted by: Joshua / 3:22 PMFeb.21 2004From/Tenants #611 Joshua Angell DD,CNA,CHHA &James Wyckoff, Jr.To/ Mc Neil House ApartmentsWhat we want:Sanitizing of all personal items in Apartment #611/ and all personal property packed and moved to 5203 Heritage Village Drive, Austin.Since mold spores are microscopic, and nearly as light as air itself, they are easily drawn through heating and cooling system and the attached duct work. Spores also tend to lodge in the dirt within these systems as well as in the evaporator coils (the dirty ducts provide all the needed food sources and moisture for mold to grow). Therefore, all personal items will be packed and cleaned outside of the building.THE SPECIALISTS WILL BE PICKED BY THE TENANT’S.VERIFY MOLD/POLLUTION INSURANCENearly all contractor”s insurance policies have an exclusion relating to mold. Your contractor should provide proof of coverage with either an endorsement to his/her policy specifically stating mold remediation or a separate pollution insurance policy. Any remediation contractor properly trained and insured will be glad to provide you with this information. PREVENTION OF CROSS CONTAMINATIONSince mold spores (including molds that are not Toxic Black Mold) are microscopic and very light, attempted clean-up activities may actually spread the contamination while the contractor is trying to remove the mold spores. Containment boxes will be erected with negative pressure (i.e. a vacuum type environment) so that any contaminants will be drawn into the HEPA filtration, and not spread on the tenant’s property..HEPA FILTRATION High Efficiency Particle Arrestors (HEPA) filtering units will also be employed along with the containment boxes. These filtration units should be allowed to operate during cleaning or as suggested by the mold expert, as well as AT LEAST 72-120 hours after all remediation and final clean-up is complete, at the request of the tenants. Do not assume that your filtration is a true HEPA filtering device unless it is certified as true HEPA.DETAILED CLEANINGTenant’s property will be cleaned meticulously since microorganisms and spores thrive in dust and dirt. The property will all be cleaned thoroughly. Items such as the couch, love seat, pillows, waterbed mattress, box spring, etc. can not be cleaned and need to be removed and destroyed. (These items will be replaced at a cost to Mc Neil House)In addition to any items that can not be cleaned (as determined by the mold expert, Mc Neil House will pay for the tenants large air purifier@ $ 39.99 (that needs to be destroyed), as well as three wall socket air purifier units@ $19.95 each (that need to be destroyed).Professionally sanitize all of the tenants personal property and home furnishings that have been inside the apartment, and pack, box, and place into containers to be delivered to the Tenant’s new address, 5203 Heritage Village Drive, Austin Texas. (At the cost of Mc Neil House). The containers will be tested by a mold inspector (at the cost of Mc Neil House), and the results must be approved by the Tenant’s before being delivered.Since cleaning and packing will take time, Mc Neil House will pay for a hotel stay while it is being done, and must be a hotel that allows pets.In addition to this, since future health issues may occur, and because of the aggravation and inconvience of moving twice, soon to be three times, after our numerous complaints of mold in #1007 and #611 for Mc Neil House’s attempts to cover evidence of mold with white spray paint and having unqualified persons to diagnose the problems telling us it was nothing. (So we had a Certified Qualified individual inspect our dwelling confirming we had a serious mold infestation that occurred before us moving in and continues to grow due to improper remediation.) Thus, making it worse, we have had to live in these conditions and have recurrent sinus infections, headaches, dizziness, noise level problems, being blocked in by cars, etc., Mc Neil House will refund all rent monies paid while at Apartment #611. If this is agreed to the tenants will not seek rent monies and damages from Apartment #1007.Mc Neil House/ Name & Title: _________________ DATE __________________FINAL SAMPLING OF PERSONAL PROPERTYSampling via various methods (cultures, air samples, swab samples, etc.) will be done. Since spores are microscopic, the only way to verify and document that the proper cleaning has been completed successfully is to have sampling done by an independent 3rd party. An independent 3rd party, trained in mold remediation and sampling, will take the samples AND interpret the results.(To be approved by the Tenants). Samples should be taken aggressively. A reference sample will also be taken of outside conditions for analysis and comparison. NOTE: Final sampling will not be considered until all visible dirt and dust has been removed and professionally sanitized on all of the personal property. It is impossible to remove 100% of all contaminants from surfaces, but dusty and dirty conditions will not be sufficient. The goal of final sampling is to make the tenant’s comfortable with moving their property into their new home, by providing a report that the items have been cleaned successfully.RECONSTRUCTION/DEMOLITIONAny reconstruction or demolition of the apartment will not begin until all of the Tenants property has been professionally sanitized and moved to 5203 Heritage Village Drive Austin ,Texas.(at a cost to Mc Neil House) CONTRACTOR/ Mold Expert VERIFICATIONI verify that each of the above steps, and any other necessary steps, have been completed as noted above. I verify that my results are accurate, and I have no affiliation with Mc Neil House Apts., other than that is who is paying for my services. As of this date , ______________, I have completed each of the above steps and the final samples and final results have been collected and approved by an independent 3rd party trained in proper sampling protocol and I verify that all samples have been handled following the proper chain-of-custody.Certified Mold Remediation Expert / Name _________________ DATE __________________WITNESSED BY / Tenant : _________________ DATE __________________WITNESSED BY / Tenant : _________________ DATE __________________WITNESSED BY /Mc Neil House/ Name & Title: _________________ DATE __________________WITNESSED BY /Mc Neil House/ Name & Title: _________________ DATE __________________Mc Neil House:I Understand that:During and after removal or remediation of the mold, it may be necessary(as determined by the mold expert) to conduct sampling to determine if sanitizing has been successful. (This will be performed at a cost to Mc Neil House.)Mc Neil House/ Name & Title: _________________ DATE __________________Professionally sanitize all of the tenants personal property and home furnishings that have been inside the apartment, and pack, box, and place into containers to be delivered to the Tenant’s new address, 5203 Heritage Village Drive, Austin Texas. (At the cost of Mc Neil House). The containers will be tested by a mold inspector, and the results must be approved by the Tenant’s before being delivered.I understand that all personal property will be cleaned and sanitized, packed and boxed and delivered to 5203 Heritage Village Drive, Austin, at a cost to Mc Neil House.Mc Neil House/ Name & Title: _________________ DATE __________________Agreement Not To Publicize Problems:If this contract is agreed to in full form, the Tenant’s agree not to publicize that they have ever had a problem in any sort or fashion, with Mc Neil House Apartments.If this contract is not agreed to by Mc Neil House, both tenants maintain the right of free speech and may publicize any issues they have had while living at Mc Neil House, in any way shape or form(i.e. over 100 pictures ,samples, statements, detailed notes of all requests, copies of letters sent and given, professional mold expert documentation, a can of KILZ spray paint left behind on the day the vents were to be cleaned, etc. ).Mc Neil House/ Tenant: _________________ DATE __________________Mc Neil House/ Tenant: _________________ DATE __________________WITNESSED BY /Mc Neil House/ Name & Title: _________________ DATE __________________MC NEIL HOUSE MUST RESPOND WITHIN THREE BUSINESS DAYS, IN WRITING.Posted by: Joshua / 3:22 PMQ. If mold is present in the walls of home when it is being built will the mold go away after the walls are sealed up as long as no water enters that wall area?1. A. No, mold does not "go away" after walls of a new home are sealed. If mold spores and mold growth are denied access to current moisture, they will simply go dormant, waiting for future water from high humidity [above 60%] or future roof leaks, plumbing leaks, etc. Even the smell of dormant mold can make some people sick. Mold needs to be removed from all new home timbers and building materials, and then the mold decontaminated area needs to be sprayed with two wet spray coatings of Coverage Plus mold fungicide and Tim-bor antimicrobial coating. 1. Exposure to mold is not healthy for anyone but the following individuals are at a higher risk for adverse heath effects: infants, children, elderly, immune compromised patients, pregnant women, and individuals with existing respiratory conditions. When inhaled, even in small amounts, mold can cause a wide range of health problems including respiratory problems (wheezing), nasal and sinus congestion, watery and red eyes, nose and throat irritation, skin irritation, aches and pains, fevers, and in some cases even death.A person who ingests or inhales a large number of spores may suffer adverse health effects.1. What health effects can be caused by exposure to mold?Exposure to any mold could cause health effects (e.g., allergic symptoms such as watery eyes, a runny nose, sneezing, nasal congestion, itching, coughing, wheezing, difficulty breathing, headache and fatigue) under the right conditions. Similarly, the same amount of mold may cause health effects in one person, but not in another, because some people are more sensitive to molds than others. These include:infants and children elderly persons immune compromised patients (i.e., people with HIV infection, cancer, liver disease, etc., or who are under-going chemotherapy) individuals with existing respiratory conditions, such as allergies and asthma. Should I be concerned about mold in my home?When airborne mold spores are present in large numbers, they can cause skin irritation, allergic reactions, asthma episodes, infections and other respiratory problems for people. Exposure to high spore levels can cause the development of an allergy to the mold. Mold also can cause structural damage to your home.Can my home be tested for mold?1. Testing for molds is very difficult and expensive. Homeowners must hire a contractor to test their homes. Even if testing is done, no standards exist to judge what are acceptable amounts of mold. Testing cannot determine whether health effects will occur. Mold is normally found outdoors and counts fluctuate from day to day depending on the season. Due to the uncertainties associated with testing for molds, it is not recommended in most cases. If you can see or smell mold, testing is usually not necessary. It needs to be cleaned up.Common symptoms of exposure to mold range from the following: Headache, fatigue, shortness of breath. Sinus congestion, coughing and sneezing.Eye, nose, throat and skin irritation. Dizziness and nausea. .Not everyone has the same sensitivity to mold so it is possible for one person to experience discomfort while others living in the home to have no symptoms whatsoever. Individuals at the greatest risk include: Allergy and asthma sufferers. People with respiratory disease. People with compromised immune systems. Contact lens wearers. If mold in your home is the source of these issues, you will find that your health improves if you are away from your home for an extended period of time. Common symptoms of exposure to mold range from the following: Headache, fatigue, shortness of breath. Sinus congestion, coughing and sneezing. Eye, nose, throat and skin irritation. Dizziness and nausea. Why are we concerned about mold? Small amounts of mold growth in workplaces or homes (such as mildew on a shower curtain) or workplaces are not a major concern, but no mold should be permitted to grow and multiply indoors. When molds are present in large quantities, they may cause nuisance odors and health problems for some people. Mold can damage building materials, finishes and home furnishings. Some molds can cause structural damage to wood.How do molds affect people? Most people will have no reaction at all when exposed to molds. Allergic reactions, similar to common pollen or animal allergies, are the most common health effects for individuals sensitive to molds. Flu-like symptoms and skin rash may occur. Molds may also aggravate asthma. Fungal infections from building-associated molds may occur in people with serious immune disease but this is very rare. Who is affected by exposure to mold? For those who are affected by mold exposure, there can be a wide variation in how they react. People who may be affected more severely and quickly than others include:infants and children elderly people pregnant women individuals with respiratory conditions or allergies and asthma persons with weakened immune systems (for example, people with HIV infection, chemotherapy patients, or organ or bone marrow transplant recipients, autoimmune diseases.) Molds produce tiny spores to reproduce. Mold spores waft through the indoor and outdoor air continually. When mold spores land on a damp spot indoors, they may begin growing and digesting whatever they are growing on in order to survive. There are molds that can grow on wood, paper, carpet, and foods. When excessive moisture or water accumulates indoors, mold growth will often occur, particularly if the moisture problem remains undiscovered or un-addressed. There is no practical way to eliminate all mold and mold spores in the indoor environment; the way to control indoor mold growth is to control moisture.1. The key to mold control is moisture control. It is important to dry water damaged areas and items within 24-48 hours to prevent mold growth. If mold is a problem in your home, clean up the mold and get rid of the excess water or moisture. Fix leaky plumbing or other sources of water. Wash mold off hard surfaces with detergent and water, and dry completely. Absorbent materials (such as ceiling tiles & carpet) that become moldy may have to be replaced.NOTE: There are laws against endangerment of your health. The more people that know about the problem, the less likely the owner/manager is to continue endangering your health or to take illegal actions against you.Going to court is likely to take too long to keep you from further health problems, such as acquiring a life-long lung disease due to the mold. There are currently no legal limits on the amounts or types of mold in occupied buildings.1. If the owner/manager fails to quickly eliminate the mold problem, then you should do the following before the apartment owner/manager has a chance to cover-up the mold:Some molds that propagate indoors may, under some conditions, produce mycotoxins that can adversely affect living cells and organisms by a variety of mechanisms. Adverse effects of molds and mycotoxins have been recognized for centuries following ingestion of contaminated foods. Occupational diseases are also recognized in association with inhalation exposure to fungi, bacteria, and other organic matter, usually in industrial or agricultural settings. Molds growing indoors are believed by some to cause building-related symptoms. Despite a voluminous literature on the subject, the causal association remains weak and unproven, particularly with respect to causation by mycotoxins. One mold in particular, Stachybotrys chartarum, is blamed for a diverse array of maladies when it is found indoors. Despite its well-known ability to produce mycotoxins under appropriate growth conditions, years of intensive study have failed to establish exposure to S. chartarum in home, school, or office environments as a cause of adverse human health effects. Levels of exposure in the indoor environment, dose-response data in animals, and dose-rate considerations suggest that delivery by the inhalation route of a toxic dose of mycotoxins in the indoor environment is highly unlikely at best, even for the hypothetically most vulnerable subpopulations. Normal building materials and furnishings provide ample nutrition for many species of molds, but they can grow and amplify indoors only when there is an adequate supply of moisture. Where mold grows indoors there is an inappropriate source of water that must be corrected before remediation of the mold colonization can succeed. Mold growth in the home, school, or office environment should not be tolerated because mold physically destroys the building materials on which it grows, mold growth is unsightly and may produce offensive odors, and mold is likely to sensitize and produce allergic responses in allergic individuals.Molds and other fungi may adversely affect human health through three processes: 1) allergy; 2) infection; and 3) toxicity. One can estimate that about 10% of the population has allergic antibodies to fungal antigens. Only half of these, or 5%, would be expected to show clinical illness. Furthermore, outdoor molds are generally more abundant and important in airway allergic disease than indoor molds — leaving the latter with an important, but minor overall role in allergic airway disease. Allergic responses are most commonly experienced as allergic asthma or allergic rhinitis ("hay fever"). A rare, but much more serious immune-related condition, hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP), may follow exposure (usually occupational) to very high concentrations of fungal (and other microbial) proteins. Some molds have been known to produce toxins that are harmful to animals and humans when ingested, inhaled or in contact with the skin. The molds that produce toxins are known as toxigenic molds. The earliest known toxigenic molds, primarily Claviceps purpurea, produce the substance ergot. The ergot molds infect rye, grains and other grasses. Ingestion of ergot contaminated rye or other cereals causes ergotism. There are two types of ergotism recognized clinically: gangrenous and convulsive. Gangrenous ergotism affects the extremities as well as causes gastrointestinal symptoms. Convulsive ergotism affects the nerve system causing brain and spinal lesions which can lead to death or permanent mental impairment.Many molds in addition to ergot molds produce secondary toxic metabolites, such as alkaloids, cyclopeptides, and coumarins. Metabolites that can produce adverse health effects (mycotoxicoses) in animals and humans are collectively known as mycotoxins. The latest World Health Organization (WHO) publication on mycotoxins, available in 1990, indicated that there are more than 200 mycotoxins produced by a variety of common molds. Historically, mycotoxins are a problem to farmers and food industries and in Eastern European and third world countries. However, many toxigenic molds, such as Stachybotrys chartarum (also known as Stachybotrys atra) and species of Aspergillus and Penicillium, have been found to infest buildings with known indoor air and building-related problems.In addition to mycotoxins, volatile organic compounds (moldy odors) released from actively growing molds may also pose a health risk.What are the health effects of mycotoxins?Mycotoxins may cause a variety of short-term as well as long-term adverse health effects. This ranges from immediate toxic response and immune-suppression to the potential long-term carcinogenic effect. Symptoms due to mycotoxins or toxins-containing airborne spores (particularly those of Stachybotrys chartarum) include dermatitis, recurring cold and flu-like symptoms, burning sore throat, headaches and excessive fatigue, diarrhea, and impaired or altered immune function. The ability of the body to fight off infectious diseases may be weakened resulting in opportunistic infections. Certain mycotoxins, such as zearalenone (F2 toxin), can cause infertility and stillbirths in pigs. Because these symptoms may also be caused by many other diseases, misdiagnoses of mycotoxin exposures are common. There are very few physicians with the experience or expertise in correctly diagnosing mycotoxin exposures or mycotoxicoses. Occupational or building-related exposures to mycotoxins through inhalation are slowly being recognized as a major indoor air quality problem. Generally, removal of causative agents is necessary. Treatment for symptomatic mycotoxicosis may be required. If exposure to molds and mycotoxins is suspected, consult an occupational health professional. Fungal growth in an indoor environment is often related to the availability of nutrient, water/moisture, proper temperature range and the presence of inoculum (often fungal spores). The key factor is water/moisture. Moisture control to reduce condensation and free water will prevent or control fungal growth.In an environment where water/moisture-related problems often lead to fungal growth, rapid response to the problem is the key solution. Mold-infested materials should be removed and replaced (see also below). Materials that can not be replaced should be decontaminated or treated. Consult an environmental microbiologist for such decontamination treatments. Proper project design and procedures are an important factor in a successful decontamination project. Biocidal application may be necessary under certain conditions. More importantly, before any decontamination is performed, water and excessive moisture must be controlled and eliminated.Most importantly, fungal infestation may be directly correlated with building operation and maintenance. Spores of Stachybotrys chartarum are wet and slimy. They do not easily become airborne. Their dissemination is likely through insects (such as cockroaches), rodents, water incursion or air stream. Without the assistance of insects, rodents and free running water, the likelihood of Stachybotrys chartarum spreading from one location to the other requires the disturbance of a dried slimy spore mass. Spores and hyphae of S. chartarum have been detected in air samples. Any detection of S. chartarum spores in indoor air should be considered significant.To prevent or eliminate fungal infestation in buildings, the following procedures should be observed:1. Heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems must be properly filtered and maintained. 2. Water intrusion must be taken care of within 24 hours. Never overlook small leaks. Ignored small leaks are much more problematic than a properly handled major flood. For additional information on the proper handling of water intrusion, please see Enviros Vol. 3, No. 8 (August 1993); back issues are available. 3. Proper handling and storage of food to keep insects and rodents away from buildings. 4. In a warm, humid climate, a building engineer should be consulted to make sure that a moisture barrier is properly installed and that no condensation will occur. 5. Install dehumidifiers in areas where humidity is constantly high. Keep relative humidity between 20% and 50%. 6. If large areas of contamination are determined, asbestos-like remediation procedures are necessary. Consult an industrial hygienist with experience in asbestos remediation procedures, as well as in biohazard remediation. If a building is known to have extensive fungal growth, consult an industrial hygienist with training and experience in microbiological control. Human and environmental protection must be observed when removing and handling fungal contaminated materials.A case of attempted suicide with purified aflatoxin [B.sub.1] is reported to have occurred in 1966 in the USA. A young woman ingested a total of 5.5 mg of aflatoxin [B.sub.1] over 2 days and, 6 months later, a total of 35 mg over 2 weeks. Following the first exposure, she was admitted to hospital with a transient, nonpruritic, macular rash, nausea and headache; the second time she reported nausea only. 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.I've seen people become deathly ill," Mr. Krell said.Which hardly means that mold is harmless. "We know that there are a range of health effects related to mold exposure," said Dr. Maida P. Galvez"We know that families with strong histories of allergic diseases are more susceptible to these exposures," Dr. Galvez said, "that mold can exacerbate these conditions." At a minimum, mold can cause eye, ear, nose and throat irritation, as well as coughing and wheezing — sometimes severe and unrelenting.Still, mold can be deadly. Dr. Jordan Fink, a professor in the allergy and immunology division of the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, said mold can cause hypersensitivity pneumonitis, resulting in progressive lung impairment. "There have been fatal cases of hypersensitivity pneumonitis," he said, "because of the inflammation and scarring of pulmonary tissue." Mold thrives on moisture. And, as Mr. Garcia emphasized, remediation requires elimination of the source. "Whatever caused water damage must be fixed," he said. "Realistically, that should be done before the cleaning, because the mold will come back." Better yet, leaks should be eliminated before mold ever takes root.If mold does become visible — a big if, given that it also thrives in a building's dark recesses — a cleanup is in order.The Old Testament, while genteelly referring to mold as mildew, offers a harsh prescription. Speaking of "the priest," Leviticus 14, says: "If mildew has spread on the walls, he is to order that the contaminated stones be torn out." If mildew reappears, it says, "the house must be torn down."Mold releases microscopic fungal spores that, if inhaled, can trigger allergy and asthma symptoms in sensitive people, Reynolds explains. It can also lead to sinus infections.Mold in the La Venezia ApartmentsLet me begin by introducing myself. My name is Gina Lewis and I moved into the apartments at La Venezia in November 2002. We moved out in April 2003. My husband, 3-year-old son and I were very impressed with the spacious apartment we moved into (Apartment 212). We wanted to make it homey and nice. We were welcomed with open arms and given a checklist. We were asked to write down any problems we thought there were with the apartment. We noticed a stain on the wall in our master bedroom and reported it to the maintenance person, Chris, (no longer with La Venezia). At first we thought we might have spilled coffee or tea on the wall and my husband painted over it. The stain reappeared after it had rained. We called maintenance again, but the problem was never fixed. At the time we rented the apartment, the complex was not owned by LaVenezia, L.L.C. It was operated and managed by Epoch Management.FEELING SICK around December 2002My son began getting cold symptoms. We started bringing him to the doctor and he was placed on antibiotic after antibiotic. He had diarrhea, green mucous discharge constantly running from his nose, temperatures, ear infections, etc. I remember one day driving in the car and he was on antibiotics and he tried to blow that discharge from his nose, but it would not come out. He said, “Mommy, look, I can breathe!” I thought, thank God. Hopefully this will be the last of it. However, it just kept continuing. We were constantly called to take my son out of daycare because of his high temperatures and vomiting. Let me state that his symptoms began well before he was placed in daycare. I was constantly out of work because of respiratory problems, bronchitis, ear infections, diarrhea, headaches, urinary tract infections, yeast infections, etc. Someone would ask me a question and a minute later I would forget the question or I would begin slurring my words. I was so forgetful. I never had any problems with asthma or my breathing before moving into La Venezia. We moved out of La Venezia in April, however I am still sick. I keep getting ear infections, my body constantly aches like the flu, I am exhausted all the time and I am going to be seen by a specialist shortly. The doctors are perplexed and my family is very worried about me. This has been a constant battle and I just want my health back so that I can enjoy time with my family. After work, I just go home and go to sleep. I sleep the weekends away and I am constantly taking Advil or placed on antibiotics. My husband was very ill while living at LaVenezia also. He also had breathing problems, diarrhea, headaches, etc.THE NEW OWNER AND HIS CONCERN FOR RESIDENTSIn January, I had spoken to David Taylor and he told me that he was not aware of the problems because he had just bought LaVenezia in January. He offered to move us into another apartment building after many letters and he was very cooperative when the health inspector came to point out the mold, the roof leaks, the cracks, poor paint jobs, window leaks, etc. He was somewhat apprehensive, but moved us into another building. We were also not obligated to the Lease Agreement from that day forward as I knew a little about Florida Law and the responsibility of the owner. Even though the health inspector showed him the problems and the mold in apartment 212, David Taylor would not admit to mold. He would only admit to water or plumbing problems. I find that quite peculiar, as water damage is the cause of mold.When Bob Kallotte (the health inspector) mentioned court to David Taylor and made a comment on David Taylor’s Rolex watch, David Taylor said that he wouldn’t be wearing that Rolex watch in court if he had to go. David Taylor also said to me that he had to worry about the buildings because of the next rainstorm. I find it strange that Florida has had an unusual amount of rain this season. Have you noticed any water intrusion in your apartment? The maintenance person, Ryan Berry came into our second apartment to look at the air conditioning unit and the window leaks we were complaining about. He said to my husband that he did not understand why we had window leaks as they had cleaned those windows up real good. Did you know that painting over mold or putting sealer over the mold only masks the problem? In fact, David Taylor sent us a letter from an “inspector”, Tony Posa. This “inspector” did inspections for hotels, yet we received an inspection from this man stating that there was no mold in our apartment. I thought it was a coincidence that the maintenance manager was hired by David Taylor and previously worked in the hotel industry. I found it interesting that we received a notice on our door from management saying they were doing air quality testing. What type of air quality testing? How thorough? How objective? Was it because they were looking out for our health or was it an attempt to make us believe that there were no mold problems with inadequate testing? Have you noticed the late night commercials regarding renting apartments at LaVenezia? They show the beautiful property, but they don’t show any remediation.DANGER - APARTMENT NUMBER TWO AND THE THREATS BEGINIt was not long before David Taylor and Beverly Crafts changed their attitude to nasty. I was approached by Beverly Crafts and David Taylor in a golf cart outside of my apartment (1875) before a gathering at the clubhouse. They were trying to intimidate me and I was in the car with my mother and son. David Taylor asked why I was still living there and why I was smoking if my mother had COPD. I responded by telling him that I was not smoking inside the car and I would not subject my mother and son to the smoke. Also take into consideration that when we did smoke, we went outside onto the lanai. We never smoked in the apartment. Of course he tried to blame our health issues on smoking.I found it ironic that he would bring this hypocrisy up in front of Beverly Crafts who does smoke. I also know the risks of smoking and health, but I have never heard that smoking contributes to memory loss, urinary tract infections and yeast infections. I chose to put a cigarette in my mouth and light it, however I did not choose to breathe in mold spores, I was forced without my knowledge. I also wonder how my son and mother (both nonsmokers) could develop breathing problems and a list of medical issues. Beverly Crafts called me crazy. At that time, I suggested to Mr. Taylor, if he wanted us to move he could waive our cost of rent and we would immediately move out. He did not respond well to that. In fact, he said, “It’s all about money with you isn’t it Gina?” I say to myself, all about money? Here we were paying for a hotel room, throwing away all of our belongings because of mold contamination, out of money, robbed of our health, out of health insurance, a child constantly having diarrhea and a green discharge from his nose, etc. and here is a man who has a wife and son highly allergic to mold.I wrote David Taylor a letter offering him and his family to live in Apartment 1825 while we were staying at the hotel. Of course he did not subject his family to the mold spores. I don’t think the man cared if we were homeless and sick or not. All he could think of was his business and his money. He then asked if my employer was aware that I was faxing letters to LaVenezia’s office. I explained that my employer’s assistant was well aware of what I had been doing. He also pointed out that he and his brother knew Larry Sewell (employer at the time) very well. I found it no coincidence that I lost my job soon after that.THE POLICE KNOCKING ON MY DOOR The same exact day following the golf cart incident, I was stopped by Beverly Crafts as I proceeded to go into the clubhouse to follow a neighbor (Pam Billichuk). She told me that I could not come in. I told her that I could and I did go into the clubhouse. The next thing I know, David Taylor pulls me to the side and tried to hint to me that he was my friend and that I should leave or Beverly would call the police. I gave him a wink and said sure you are my friend David. After all, who is in charge at LaVenezia, David Taylor or Beverly Crafts? I was peacefully handing out factual informational flyers and I believe that they did not want this information known to the other residents. I went back to my apartment to cook supper. Let me point out that we were paying rent at LaVenezia and paying for a hotel room at the same time because the apartment was uninhabitable. We could not cook dinner at the hotel so I proceeded to go to the Apartment 1825 and cook dinner when I heard a loud knock at my door. It was the police. They said they received a complaint that I was screaming across the clubhouse. Of course that was not true. I was told to remain silent and listen to what I could and could not do there. I patiently listened. I am legally allowed to send mail and also to stand outside of the clubhouse and hand out informational flyers to those who are willing to receive them. The second choice was not an option as I knew that David Taylor and Beverly Crafts would lie and call the police on me again. I thought this was funny…..after I received the riot act, one of the policemen asked me who he could call regarding mold in his home.MOM UNDERGOES UNNECESSARY SURGERYMy mother got very ill in Apartment 1825 after staying there for just a few hours. I had to fly to her home because the doctors could not understand what was wrong with her and thought she might be having heart trouble. She underwent a catheterization and the doctor did not find any blockage. Finally, she was placed on Prednisone an inhaler and an antibiotic. She was on her way to feeling better, but it was very stressful and scary.IF WE HAD ONLY KNOWN! In short, I am deeply disturbed that we rented from management and they were aware or shortly became very aware of mold issues. However, they continue to partially work on half of a building while the other half is still occupied. That is unheard of. There are dumpsters filled with wood and the smell of mold. There are apartments occupied that have not been remediated. People are getting sick and they don’t even know that it is caused by water intrusion leading to mold spores. Take a walk around your apartment complex and you will see for yourself. Doesn’t it seem strange to you that they are fixing the outside of the apartment buildings, but yet they are not tearing down the inside walls? We only saw the water damage in our apartment when management opened the wall and the ant infestation poured out. David Taylor had maintenance come in to work in apartment 212 while my husband was still moving. My husband had no idea the maintenance person was going to open the wall while he was in there. The man opened the wall and ants came pouring out onto the ceiling, the walls and the floors. My husband pulled out the video camera and taped it. That would explain the ant problem that we constantly had. Ants follow the water. Two movers from Two Men and a Truck were present that day and could not believe their eyes.MOVED OUT AND STILL FACING HEALTH ISSUESBeverly Crafts has called me crazy, she has also told me that I should move from Florida because there is mold everywhere, I have been threatened, I have lost jobs and my health. My husband has also lost his job. I have been harassed and threatened, however, I will continue with my freedom of speech and my purpose to make residents aware of this issue. I urge you to contact your Sarasota County Health Inspector, Bob Kallotte if you have been sick. The Sarasota County Health Department (Robert Kallotte) inspected our apartment at 212 in February 2003 and it is documented quite clearly that there was mold throughout the apartment due to water leaks. These records are public. Anyone can call and request any inspections done at LaVenezia. Don’t believe me. Make a call. See for yourself. WHY I CHOOSE TO SPEAK ABOUT THIS The purpose of this letter is to create awareness in your LaVenezia apartment complex. Take a look around and see the cracks on the buildings, wood all over the place in dumpsters, etc. You will also see and smell mold. Now look to see if that building is unoccupied. The building should be empty while they are doing this work and the residents should be notified. Why? Simply because those microscopic mold spores cannot be seen with the naked eye. I do not want anyone else to experience this unhealthy exposure and the domino affect. However, I already know people who have lived there and have been sick. This issue has become so important to me that I am joining other groups to volunteer my time to set guidelines through the Environmental Protection Agency and legislature. Don’t kid yourself. This issue should be very important to the health insurance industry. After all, there are so many people who go to the doctor repeatedly because they are sick and they are initially told that they have a cold. Our tax dollars pay for this. The elderly are at stake and what about the out-of-pocket costs to pet owners? Please email if you wish to discuss this. My email address is….Ginalewis@hotmail.com. My telephone number is 918-9475. I can email you pictures and documentation or I can meet with you regarding this. You should be concerned for your health and your family’s health. You should also be concerned for your neighbor’s health.Sincerely, Gina LewisCc: David TaylorBeverly CraftsRobert KallotteMost people think that if they have mold, they must be a horrible housekeeper. Let me assure you that I have videos of my apartment and it was very clean. People are afraid to bring this issue up as they feel they may be accused of being a dirty person. Mold has nothing to do with housekeeping. Mold is caused by poor construction and water intrusion. Water that is dormant for 72 hours turns into dirty water causing mold. It is the mold spores that cause people to be ill. I have heard so many people defend themselves by stating they are clean people. Mold does not discriminate. Mold should not be growing in your apartment. 1. By Rachael Myer Arizona Daily Wildcat,February 14, 2000 Toxic mold from a former Christopher City resident's apartment probably caused stomach, intestinal and balance problems, a UA risk management official said Thursday. Kathy Skiles, who lived at the University of Arizona's family housing complex last semester, said she suffered health problems from her apartment that caused her to leave the UA in January. Julia Rosen, health and safety officer for Risk Management, is scheduled to finish a report this week about the mold in Skiles' carpeting at Christopher City Apartment Complex, 3401 N. Columbus Blvd. The complex houses UA students with families as well as many international students. "I think it could have explained her symptoms," Rosen said about the mold. Water dripped onto Skiles' carpet, which was made out of cellulose and allowed toxic mold to develop, Rosen said. "I'm compiling the results of our samples, and I need to get that report to Residence Life," Rosen said. James Van Arsdel, Residence Life director, said he was aware the report was being written by Rosen, but did not have first-hand knowledge of its findings. "Obviously it concluded that a resident may have come into contact with something that could have some adverse effect on them," Van Arsdel said. "It's hard for me to say anything else until I know what Julie (Rosen) has to say." But Van Arsdel said he was unsure of the mold's effect on Skiles. "I don't know if we can absolutely say that is what caused someone's symptoms," Van Arsdel said about the carpet mold. Skiles' problems began about the time she moved into her apartment, 32-G, in August. She said the apartment had a strong odor that is unlike anything she has ever smelled before. Her problems started as a runny nose and a headache, but developed into stomach and intestinal problems, as well as difficulty balancing. "In the earlier (part of the) semester, I was like a dead person walking - I was so sick," Skiles said in a telephone interview from Pennsylvania. "Six months ago, I had all these dreams and these things going for me," Skiles said. She added that personal problems - as well as poor health - contributed to her decision to leave UA. Skiles said even though she has moved more than 2,300 miles from Christopher City, she is unable to get rid of the smell of her old apartment. "My furniture still smells like Christopher City," said Skiles, who was studying psychology and eventually wanted to earn a doctoral degree. "My mom has used Febreeze on my sofa more times than I can count." In late September, Skiles contacted Christopher City maintenance about her illness. They flushed the air filter with bleach, but the smell persisted and her eyes still burned. "All along the way, they tell me that every so often there are problems with the air handlers," Skiles said. Christopher City maintenance staff also cleaned her carpet, but Skiles said it made no difference. In October, UA Campus Health officials told Skiles not to return to her apartment and signed a doctor's note stating that she should move out. Chemical analysis stated she had elevated liver levels, Skiles said. Risk Management conducted a report about the apartment and found that mold had grown on Skiles' air handlers, Skiles said. Christopher City gave Skiles the use of a guest apartment but she did not want to live there because the apartment smelled similar to her previous place. "I was not being overly picky here - they were not in the greatest shape," Skiles said. Van Arsdel said Residence Life helped Skiles as much as possible. "As I understand, our staff went to great lengths to determine what kind of problem there was," he said. "I don't have any doubt our staff took appropriate actions in that case - that's not a concern of mine." Skiles moved in with a friend, Charla Carr - who also lived at Christopher City - for the rest of the semester because she said she was tired of being sick. But Carr had problems with her apartment, too. Carr's daughter, Kylee, developed asthma about three months after the family moved into their apartment. Kylee, who had no previous or family history of asthma problems, developed asthma from mold in their apartment, Carr said. Kylee, 5, first had cold-like symptoms, and then she had trouble breathing at times. "I had asthma and it hurts because my tummy was hurt very bad," Kylee Carr said last week. "I feel happy I don't have it anymore." The family moved to an apartment closer to campus on Dec. 1 because of Kylee's health problems. Rosen said Carr's apartment had a different type of mold and also less mold than Skiles' apartment. Risk Management wrote a report about Carr's apartment Nov. 29 after Kylee became ill. The report, written by Rosen, stated black stains on Carr's insulated water pipes "suggested mold growth." Rosen found a "nickel-sized" black stain on a bedroom ceiling as well as mold in the air conditioner's condensation pan. Rosen said this mold would not have been present in the air while Carr lived there and would not have been a problem. She added that thousands of molds grow naturally. "In my opinion, there was very little mold at her apartment," Rosen said about Carr's residence. Van Arsdel said he has not personally spoken with Carr, but that his office acted appropriately. "I'm not aware of anything that we should have done that we haven't done," Van Arsdel said. Carr, a single parent, said she moved to Christopher City Aug. 1 from Seattle to earn a degree and provide a better future for her daughter. "I'm a little bitter," Carr said. "I think I'm really upset because people aren't aware of it." Carr was present while Southwest Hazard Control Inc., a Tucson hazardous materials remediation agency, painted over the pipes and bleached them. Rosen said her agency has conducted four complaint-driven reports in the last five years regarding Christopher City and the UA has taken action on all of them. The two latest reports were for the Carr and Skiles apartments. Another report was about pesticides used to control roaches and one was about an herbicide used in gravel. Martha Castleberry, Christopher City community services manager, said her office has received about a dozen complaints about health problems from residents during the past five years. Castleberry said the most frequent complaint residents make is about allergies with cold-like symptoms. "People get allergies that are so different, that's why its so hard to find out what's wrong with them" Castleberry said. She said many Christopher City residents are unaware of the danger of living in their apartments. "I firmly believe all the apartments have problems whether the residents are aware about it or not," Skiles said. Carr said she wants a decision made about Christopher City. "Just do something - close it down or fix it," Carr said. Like being strangled Three weeks after moving in, something was very wrong. Each time I climbed the stairs to my apartment, I wheezed. Once inside, I often felt like someone was strangling me, cutting off my air supply. I went to see my doctor. He told me I had asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or possibly both. 1. In November, I noticed slimy black mold - the kind you might find in the bathroom - on the window sills. Management said this happened all the time during the winter months; it was just condensation. Clean it with bleach, they said. That I did. Then the migraines came. For the next three months I also had continual sinus infections and strep throat. I blamed it all on the gas heat. It had been years since I lived in anything other than all-electric. When friends who visited complained of headaches that went away after they left the apartment, I still didn’t put two and two together.The only bright spot was Peaches and Mango, who by this time had joined me and had the run of the apartment. They would sit on my shoulder when I was on the computer or sewing, and "cuddle" with me when I watched TV. They were my new friends, in a new apartment, and new town. They were helping me to adjust to the empty nest syndrome.Something black was growing on the wall around the vent in the living room. I found the same splattering in my bedroom.But I continued to feel poorly. Then in March 2001 I was rushed by ambulance to the hospital for intestinal bleeding. I thought I had a severe case of food poisoningBy now, something black was growing on the wall around the heating and air-conditioning vent in the living room. The splattering grew to two feet by two feet across the ceiling and adjacent walls. I found the same thing in my bedroom. 1. Maintenance cleaned the black mold off with bleach. It came back. They cleaned it again, and applied a paint with fungicide. It came back.The cycle continued, even after maintenance said they had cleaned the ductwork and sprayed it with a fungicide. The biologist who came to my apartment discovered three types of mold, later identified as alternaria and rhizopus, both potentially toxic (see 1. Your Guide to Molds), and torulopus, implicated in some types of infections. Before leaving, he recommended that I crack the windows to allow more air to circulate and contact the codes compliance office of the city of Williamsburg. The city sent their own inspector to investigate, and he found the origin of the mold. It was in the insulation - not in the ductwork - that surrounded the intake vent for the heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Re: Mold at Canyon Springs Apartment in Lynnwood Washington Posted by empathetic on 8/11/03 1. Good luck. I lost everything I owned and am now living in a pop-up camper, having to move every couple of weeks. The laws are designed to protect the interest of the land owners, not the tenants. I had much medical and lab results identifying mold and pesticides and still couldn't get any justice. Try the media, governer's office, mayor's office, congressman' office. Type one letter and cc to all others with notation at bottom of cc recepients. Report your attorney to the attorney disciplinary board. Document everything, but remember, I had 'proof' and it still wasn't enough. On 8/08/03, DSmith wrote: > I lived at Canyon Springs apartment unit, bldg.C for three > years, 1998-2001. In that three years my son and I > experience one asthamtic cold after another along with > other medical conditions that the doctor could not diganois > correctly, even my doctor was wondering why we were having > so many colds, he never tested us for mold alergy.> I finally gave a 30 day notice to vacate my lease one > month early when I discovered mold growing through the > walls and in the carpet of my apartment.> When I told the manager about the mold and asked her to > come look at the unit she stated she could not come down > because she (Lisa) was pregent. She sent the matinence man > (Dewitt)down to look at the unit who stated that there was > water steeping in becasue of the flashing on the exterior > of the bldg which needed sealed, and he actually stated to > me that I better get used to the mold because I live in the > NW. I call Snohomish county health department to come to > the apartment and they stated they could not come to my > complex because there was so many cases of mold in > Snohomish county, Washington state apartments they could > not hangle the load. I chose to vacate the apartment in > doing so I now owe a termination fee of $1400.00. I made > sure that I took pictures and a viedo of the apartment upon > vacating and it is clear in the viedo that there was mold > growing in my apartment.> I sent my viedo and a letter stating what I experienced to > Washington state public health department in Olympia the > director of Washington state viewed the viedo and he could > see evidence from the viedo that there was mold growing on > the walls and through the carpet in my unit. In his letter > he refered me to the Snohomish county Department of > Planning and Develeopment and I contacted the Department of > Planning and Develeopment who sent me a letter stating they > could not handle the case because I had vacated the > apartment, if I would have stayed in the apartment they > could have come out and tested the apartment at a charge, > $125.00.> I went to a lawyer who view the viedo and stated I had a > case, I was charged $3500.00 after I took a year developing > this case than my lawyer wanted more money, the lawyer > stated it could cost me up to $20,000.00 to take this case > to court.> I decided to go to small claims court and at that court > hearing I was told I did not have resonable cause to move. > Even with evidence of the condition of the apartment and > $5000.00 later Canyon Springs is allowed to let this > condition exsit. I know that there are other cases against > this complex from other tenants that have or are dealing > with with mold in there units. I hope writting and posting > this message on this chatboard I can be of help to others > who are experiencing this same problem and make a statment > to owners of these apartments that they need to fix the > problem and should not charge tenants a fee for chosing to > vacate due to health issue.> If you have any question about this complex or any other > complex in Washington State please email me and I will help > you along in your process of getting a case together on > this complex or any other complex in Snohomish county, I > did a lot of work on my own and have alot of information > that is for Washington state residents and the issue with > mold....I could find no offical department of Washington > state that would stand up for our tenant rights.........> DSmith at DSmith9826@aol.comPosted by: Joshua / 3:20 PM1. From: joshua.p.angell@att.netTo: info@mcneilhouse.comCc: joshua.p.angell@att.netSubject: vents, apt#611Date: Sat, 14 Feb 2004 00:03:15 +0000Dawn,Just wanted to let you know that the vent cleaning service did not show up today. It is now 5:30 PM. This was VERY inconvienent because we made it a point to leave and have the pets outside in the COLD garage. I checked both wireless phones and our home phone voicemail as well as the fax machine,... There wasn't a single message from Mc Neil House.(until 5pm at night!) I guess I just expected that you guys would have called and informed us that nobody was going to show. We'll have to get together on re-scheduling this. We only recieved a call by Steve in the LATE afternoon that it had been canceled due to RAIN.We are wondering, you had a crew fix the hole on the roof above our doorway. The other day when it was raining so hard it was leaking, still.Do you know when they were going to patch the enormous hole in the roof over our doorway? Not only is it very embarrassing for us to visitors, it drops pieces of junk down that we constantly are tracking inside and having to clean up.The day of that rain is the same day that we noticed that our refrigerator in the kitchen has sunk into the floor even more so than when we reported this on our initial move in. There must be a pretty serious leak above our apartment.Also, when we moved in, Reuban was supposed to fix the fireplace, so that you could have a fire in it. Here we are in mid-Feb. and it still has not been touched. You know, the apts. that have fireplaces are more $$$, but it is no good if you can't use it. We haven't had use of the fireplace since we moved in. Will there be a refund of the premium $ for the fireplace?On an additional note, the police no longer bother coming out to deal with the noise complaints. Last night, at about 3:30 am there was yelling and very loud music coming through the walls again. The music is so loud that the tenants do not even answer the doorbell to handle a complaint because they can't hear it. The authorities have stated that this is an issue to take up with the apartment management to be resolved. All they can do (if they bother to come out) is ask them to turn the noise down.Furthermore, the guys on the end are still blocking vehicles in. The towing company is in south Austin, so if you need to get out quickly, it is impossible. Often, Hospice will page that a patient needs to be seen at an odd hour, but you cannot leave due to being blocked in.It has been wet lately. To let you know, NO plants have been watered. We had a discussion with the neighbors that have a leaky garage. They have told us that you were telling them it was the flashing on the roof, and not due to plant watering, but rather due to the flashing. However, you were telling us it was DEFINATELY due to the watering of the plants, because it was identified to you by the roofers that worked over our doorway. We too wanted to question the roofers, but the spanish/english dictionary wasn't handy.Our relationship with the neighbors is now very good,(now that we have had the chance to discuss the truth), in fact they were over here last night. (many months of tension between tenants was very stressful, and as it turns out, there wasn't any problems between us, we only believed what we were being told by the management here. This does not make for a pleasant living situation. He (the neighbor) denies any mention of threats made to damage property, and said that that was a lie spun by McNeil house. Upon discussing the air quality and the "mildew" that we have reported about these buildings, we have found that we are not the only tenants with problems. Our health concerns are still on all of our minds. Headaches, dizziness and nausea in these buildings may be from that stuff infesting the walls(imagine 2 years of feeling sick, all the while being told the balck "mildew" wasn't anything to be worried over.)Our fridge is sinking through the floor, while the neighbors bathtub is sinking through the floor. Somewhere, there is a water leak. This is evident by the black fibers and growths behind all of the light sockets, and around the vents. We have taken some pictures of the problems, when they are developed we will share them with you, so that you can add them to our renter's file. It would be interesting to compare them to the complaints that we had in #1007. Have you found the documentation of all of our service calls and complaints for #1007 yet? We had asked you to see the file, but have never had the invitation.Hopefully, you have since resolved the problem for the new tenants in #1007.In the future, please be more considerate of our busy schedules for service cancellations.Thank you, tenants, #611Posted by: Joshua / 3:20 PMFeb. 17, 2004To:Mc Neil House Apts./Dawn Aiello(Apartments Manager)CC: undisclosed other personsDawn,We are in receipt of your documentation that you wish for us to sign. Your post-it note stated that we must sign and return the “Agreed Early Lease Termination And Move Out Date”, by Feb 18, or we will be assessed a termination fee of $1,078.65. We have consulted an attorney, and be advised that your wish to have us sign and return this form would constitute a settlement. We will not sign this form, due to the fact that we may be seeking damages from Mc Neil House (long term and short term health problems, sanitation fees of clothing, furniture, and personal items for mold spore removal, etc.). If we in fact signed this form, it would prevent us from filing a lawsuit and seeking damages. Therefore, we will not sign this document, but will, agree to be moved out by 11:59 pm on March 31, 2004. We will also agree to provide a statement from a doctor(Mc Neil House will pay in full any medical charges incurred at the time of service), due to the effects of the buildings on our health. However, please be advised, that we will not pay out of pocket or let our health insurance companies pay out of pocket for Doctor’s exams, for co-pays lab tests (blood work, liver toxicity, etc), loss of hours worked due to Doctors visits, any medications required taken short term or long term due to the effects of our health from the premises, and will hold you liable for any future monetary losses related to health issues or otherwise incurred from the premises. In our letters, (of which we have copies), we asked you yet again to provide us with documentation of all of our service request records for both #1007 and #611, and furnish to us a copy of the many, many documents that are in our files from both apartments #1007 and #611. However, you did not furnish these or reply to the request, yet again. At least a span of four months has gone by since we requested these items, which “couldn’t be located” at that time. So, we ask yet again to see these documents. The first time we asked, you verbally agreed to this and never followed up.Also, in our letter, we asked for a refund of the portions of rents paid (additional $$$ for having a fireplace in an apartment), due to the negligence of your maintenance staff in making our fireplace usable. Reuban agreed to fix the fireplace at the time of our move in, and since then we had complained and the issue has still gone unanswered. We are not required to pay for an amenity that we do not have. We have not had a useable fireplace since our move in date, so we are entitled to a refund for not having the use of it. Please be advised, that we have a copy of the letter you left at our door many months ago, (when we called complaining about health problems and concerns due to mold in the apartment), at which time you rather unprofessionally wrote “Mold has been around since the beginning of time. It is everywhere. Have a Nice Day!!! :) Dawn”. This lead us to believe that we were safe in the apartment. However, (as the many documents of research we provided you) this is not true.It is not very professional to tell your paying tenants in a letter “The accusations that are very false and unfounded in your letters are unfortunate.” Not only are you calling us liars and delivering insult, with all due respect, our accusations are VERY founded, because we have documentation in a notebook of the dates and times we called regarding problems, we have mold samples to prove our accusations, we have many detailed color photographs of the vents, walls, ceilings, etc., and we have written and signed documentation that you have, in fact, made statements regarding us to other tenants. We also have a evidence of white spray paint left by the maintenance staff, of which they tell tenants to spray paint over the problem areas. Of course, any of this will hold up in court. In your letter, you stated that “The leak is coming from the patio and the neighbors themselves have told of the plants.”This is not true, in fact, the neighbors, in statement to us, told us that you told them any leaks were related to flashing on the roof;( and NOT related to plants on an OUTDOOR cement balcony which is exposed to the elements and to rainwater. )However, we do have several photographs of the hole that has been over our entranceway that pours rainwater through it. This neglected problem is a concern. When we first complained of a damaged roof by the entrance to our apartment, we were told to wait for your remodel and that it would be fixed. The remodel crew drywall taped the area and painted over the hole, allow rainwater to gather in it, and eventually resulting in a bigger hole. Your statement that it has been rainy for 10 days and you had to wait for sheet rock to dry out is no excuse. This was a complaint made aware to you upon our move into our apartment, NOT just over the past ten days.Also, we let you know upon move in, as well as Reuban, that our fridge was sinking into our floor. When it rains, there are moist spots in various areas of this building. Our statement about these problems is not “unfounded” as you said, they are widely talked about by tenants and Reuban is many times the radio address.To call our accusations of the noise level “unfounded”, is false on your behalf, it has been an ongoing problem since we moved in, and there have been many occasions of the police being called. You told the neighbors we were the complainers, and they HONKED and SHOUTED at James in the morning regarding your telling them that the complaints were from apt. #611. We after that incident reported it to you.Our complaints about being blocked in by other cars are also not “unfounded”, many, many complaints have been filed with ALL of your staff and it is an ongoing problem for many other tenants as well, to which, any of them will tell you who creates the problem, should you ask.Lastly, in our lease agreement, section 6 of the Mold Info Addendum, it states “Do not clean or apply biocides to :1) visible mold on porous surfaces such as sheet rock walls or ceilings, or 2), large areas of visible mold on non-porous surfaces. Instead notify us in writing, and we will take appropriate action in compliance with Section 92.051 et seq of The Texas Property Code, subject to the special exceptions for natural disasters.”We have notified you countless times both verbal, email(which nobody has ever responded to in any form), and in writing of the mold problems(both in #611 and #1007) and concerns, and the problem has NOT been remedied by McNeil House. This is a clear violation of the property code. In fact, we moved from #1007 because of a mold problem due to a faulty AC unit, into #611 and have encountered the same problems here.We will be notifying you with estimates for sanitation and replacement of items if and when this becomes necessary.So in closing, we will not sign and accept your settlement offer, as further legal actions may be pursued by us.Regards, Tenants in #611 Posted by: Joshua / 3:18 PM ¶ 6:55 PM

posted by Joshua P. Angell  @ 28.10.04

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