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Business & Labor
A Growing Problem
Mold, water damage and accompanying litigation hamper building industry
(northwest.construction.com - September 2004 issue)
By Melody
Finnemore
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Mold
caused by water intrusion, is so heavy, it looks like
the building survived a fire.
(Photo courtesy of S.D. Deacon Enterprises) |
Building regulations passed during the
1970s that were designed to conserve energy may actually have
instigated the mold and water damage that is taking a toll
on building occupants.
The regulations during the nation's energy
crisis were intended to mandate "tighter" buildings
that conserve energy.
"It's that 'tightness,' the effort
to seal in heat and energy, that also is sealing in water
and starting mold growth," said Susan Eva ns, a Seattle
industrial hygienist. "The energy crisis of the mid-'70s
is exactly when the problems got worse, compounded by buildings
that are more or less mass produced. The leakier buildings
from the '60s and earlier generally are not problematic."
Evans has seen plenty of evidence regarding
the damage mold can do to both buildings and their occupants.
The vice president and principal at MDE Inc. has, for the
last 15 years, specialized in designing and monitoring the
renovations of large buildings. Her work includes ensuring
that toxic material such as mold, asbestos and lead are removed
safely.
"I'm not a physician so I can't
describe the health impacts on individual people, but both
the National Academy of Sciences and the American College
of Occupational and Environmental Medicine have published
studies that detail the potential health risks associated
with mold," she said.
A report sponsored by the Centers for
Disease Control and led by the National Academy of Sciences'
Institute of Medicine found evidence linking mold and building
dampness to asthma as well as upper respiratory illnesses
such as coughing and wheezing in otherwise healthy people.
The report recommended that excessive dampness in buildings
and homes be eliminated through building design, construction
and maintenance.
Lillian Bartha, M.D. of Indoor Health
and Diagnostics in Olympia, stresses that researchers are
only beginning to learn the affects living and working in
a damp building can have. "We always hear about the toxic
mold - stachybotrys, but the scientific community is learning
that even more common molds such as aspergillus and penicillium
can cause problems." Stachybotrys, the toxic mold that
causes hysteria, needs paper or cellulose to grow. Others
thrive on plant material and are common outdoors or in garbage,
but our systems aren't used to them in high concentrations,
Bartha said.
The issue grabbed headlines in 2001
when a jury awarded a Texas couple, Melinda Ballard and Ron
Allison, $32 million because of mold damage to their 22-room
mansion. Farmers Insurance Co. was required to pay the award,
along with $1.4 million in remediation costs before the jury
verdict.
The growing number of buildings requiring
mold remediation and repair led Portland's SD Deacon Corp.
to create a division dedicated to the work called SD Deacon
Enterprises. The firm had performed mold repair jobs for years
but felt the demand justified establishing a group specifically
devoted to such work, said Bill Townsend, president of SD
Deacon Enterprises.
"We are seeing more projects with
mold and water damage," Townsend said. "I think
it's important to conserve energy and be more environmentally
conscious, but we did it the wrong way. We tried to do it
with outdated building systems and materials. We have to be
more mindful of penetrations and look at systems that will
allow moisture to get back out."
Exterior finish insulation systems (EFIS)
garnered a poor reputation for allowing moisture into buildings
but failing to release it. Eric Maughan, a manager for Environmental
Waste Resources, a division of Nuprecon Inc. in Snoqualmie,
Wash., said he's seen his share of abatement projects in which
EFIS was the culprit.
"It's such a big problem that a
lot of contractors are trying to learn how they can build
things differently," Maughan said. "The building
products companies also are looking at how to create materials
that will withstand their applications properly."
An EFIS failure was the main cause of
mold damage at an Oregon hospital that required extensive
remediation. Maughan declined to name the hospital, saying
mold remediation clients generally prefer to keep the issue
confidential.
"There were quite a few problems,
but it was basically building defects," he added. "That's
usually what it is because of the construction or products.
The building products have changed a lot. Buildings used to
be made of plaster, and ...
(continued...)
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